A sudden and unexpected power outage struck UMKC’s campus at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, leaving students and staff confused.
As the campus plunged into darkness, students were spotted congregating outside buildings and heading towards the parking lots.
Robbie Wren, director of campus facilities, was outside the Miller Nichols Library, surrounded by other concerned employees. Here, construction workers identified the cause of the disruption underneath a sewer manhole.
According to Wren, a “feeder shortage underneath the street” created the outage, and “it is in the hands of Evergy to fix.
For Jonathan Miller, a sophomore majoring in political science, the ordeal unfolded as he was making his way into Haag Hall.
“The doors in the hallways shut abruptly, and then the power was cut off,” Miller said. “Initially, I thought there was a fire or something.”
Caroline Schmidt, another UMKC student, was in the middle of a class when the incident occurred.
“I immediately texted my friends to see if the power was out campus-wide and received a response from my friend in Katz Hall,” Schmidt said. “She was experiencing the same thing.”
The UMKC Alert System notified students and faculty via text message at 1:58 p.m., reporting that “a power line blew at 51st near Scofield Hall. Crews resolved the issue in the early evening and notified students at 6 p.m.
In response to the unexpected power outage, UMKC decided to suspend all on-campus operations and transition to remote learning for the day
For the Evergy power outage map, click here.
For more about UMKC Alert!, click here.
