Dear faculty, staff and students,
Stay away from campus unless you hear differently from your supervisor.
UC Berkeley faculty and staff should not return to campus today without consulting their supervisors or deans. Supervisors should have a clear reason for allowing their employees to be on campus. There is no PG&E power, and the campus's emergency power could fail if it is overloaded. While some buildings may appear to be functioning fully and normally, with lights on, for example, they actually are being partially energized through temporary battery back-up, backup generators and, in some cases, power from Berkeley's small co-generation power facility. However, there is not sufficient backup energy to handle normal operations on campus, such as holding classes.
It is important that people not take risks by entering buildings or create demand on power by being on campus. (The exception is in student residence halls, which are being being powered through co-generation support and managed under shelter-in-place conditions. Staff is on site to assure safety, and students are being fed in the dining halls). During the shutdown, use of energy in non-residential buildings on campus could trip the co-generation facility, in particular, and lead to de-energizing life safety systems that are a priority and in place to help minimize risks to people and facilities.
Power update
Campus emergency management leaders are in regular contact with PG&E, and we will report later today about the restoration of power to campus. The weather that caused concern has passed, so PG&E anticipates beginning the process of restoring power today. Before that can be done, PG&E must first inspect its power lines.
Status of classes and operations Friday
It is our assumption, at this time, that classes and operations will resume on Friday, provided that power is restored. However, we will not make that decision until power is actually restored.
Please pay attention to campus WarnMe/Nixle messages and refer to Berkeley News for the latest information.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Marc Fisher, Vice Chancellor
Administration
Alicia Johnson, Director
Office of Emergency Management
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
