REMINDER:
The Electrical Testing Day is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, August 6th (in two (2) days). Island Mode testing will affect all of the buildings on the Eugene campus except for the buildings listed at the bottom of this email. Columbia, Volcanology, Susan Campbell, Gerlinger, Fenton, and Condon will experience additional scheduled outages on Wednesday, August 6th. Please see the Electrical Testing Day webpage for details.
UPDATE:
There is the potential for elevators to shut down if a power glitch is experienced during the Island Mode testing. Please seek alternate arrangements for reaching other floors during this time or contact your supervisor to find an appropriate accommodation.
The list of buildings unaffected by the Island Mode testing has been updated below to include:
1658 Columbia Alley, 1691 Columbia Alley, Agate Hall, Agate House, Barnhart Hall, Central Kitchen, East Campus Grad Village, LERC/Military Science, Moss St. Children’s Center, NILI, Ombuds, Oregon Law Clinic, and Parker Black Cultural Center, Riley Hall, and UO Annex.
CPFM Utilities and Energy will perform Island Mode testing on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, between the hours of 8:00 am and 3:00 pm. Utilities and Energy staff will switch the entire campus in and out of Island Mode twice per hour (see full schedule below). The first test will begin at the top of the hour, shifting off of EWEB’s electrical grid and onto our own power generation system (called Island Mode). At 15-minutes after the hour, we will exit out of Island Mode and return back to EWEB’s power source. This cycle will be repeated again at 30-minutes after the hour, re-entering Island Mode and 45-minutes after the hour when exiting Island Mode. If problems occur during any of the planned thirteen (13) island mode tests, power outages up to 10-seconds in duration may occur. Please scroll down to learn more about Technology Impacts and what you can do to help mitigate them.
The electrical distribution system redundancy and resiliencies depend upon the properly functioning power generation system and island mode capabilities. Thank you for your patience as we resolve our issues related to entering and exiting island mode. On-site personnel will include the original electrical engineer who designed the system, ASCO technicians and a new company that brings more resiliency and oversight for Utilities and Energy.
We will also be conducting building level tests at seven different locations. The individual buildings listed below will be without power, and network access, for 75-120 minutes. All technology advice pertaining to the Island Mode Testing, which will be happening throughout the day, applies to this as well. The work to be performed includes breaker testing and repair, electrical system repairs, transfer switch test and repairs, arc flash hazard study data gathering, programmable logic updates, replace inoperative equipment, and re-torque main lugs. Users of these buildings will receive notifications before and after each test.
8:00 – 9:45 am Volcanology Hall and Columbia Hall
10:00 – 12:00 noon Susan Campbell Hall and Gerlinger Hall
12:30 – 1:45 pm Fenton Hall and Condon Hall
1:45 – 3:00 pm McKenzie Hall
Island Mode Testing Schedule:
8:00 am – Start island mode
8:15 am – Exit island mode
8:30 am – Start island mode
8:45 am – Exit island mode
9:00 am – Start island mode
9:15 am – Exit island mode
9:30 am – Start island mode
9:45 am – Exit island mode
10:00 am – Start island mode
10:15 am – Exit island mode
10:30 am – Start island mode
10:45 am – Exit island mode
11:00 am – Start island mode
11:15 am – Exit island mode
11:30 am – Start island mode
11:45 am – Exit island mode
12:00 noon – LUNCH BREAK. NO TEST.
12:15 pm – LUNCH BREAK. NO TEST.
12:30 pm – Start island mode
12:45 pm – Exit island mode
1:00 pm – Start island mode
1:15 pm – Exit island mode
1:30 pm – Start island mode
1:45 pm – Exit island mode
2:00 pm – Start island mode
2:15 pm – Exit island mode
2:30 pm – Start island mode
2:45 pm – Exit island mode
3:00 pm – All clear message sent via UO Alert
Any testing of this nature involves risks, but the university is working to mitigate potential problems with detailed preparation and redundancy efforts.
Technology impacts
To help ensure most UO-based technology services remain operational during the testing, Information Services and Campus Planning and Facilities Management will be placing the UO data centers on a secondary power source.
Cloud-based services, such as UO’s Microsoft applications, should remain available throughout the testing. However, people should expect minor disruptions to the UO network. Also, sensitive electronics may be unavailable where faculty and staff have done preventative shutdowns.
Information Services staff plan to keep the IT Service Status website up to date with notices about any unexpected outages.
Network
When a building’s power is off, its wired and wireless networks stop working. During the power testing:
- Expect: Intermittent network outages.
- Possible: Localized lingering network outages may occur if network devices fail. If so, Information Services staff will post notices on the IT Service Status website. Recovery will begin after Campus Planning and Facilities Management has completed all testing. Restoration could take a day or longer.
Devices
To protect sensitive electronic devices, Information Services recommends turning them off and unplugging them before testing begins. Such devices can be damaged by the power surge when power is turned back on. Surge protectors, while helpful, don’t guarantee that devices will be preserved.
Preparations may be handled by the User Support Services team in Information Services, by departmental IT staff or by other departmental staff, depending on existing patterns of support.
- Faculty and staff should shut down and unplug research equipment, multifunction copiers, digital display panels and other sensitive electronics in their areas.
- In most cases, local staff should shut down and unplug departmental audiovisual equipment, such as in departmentally controlled classrooms and conference rooms.
- Information Services staff will shut down audiovisual equipment in general pool and joint-controlled classrooms scheduled by the Office of the Registrar.
Recovery
- After receiving the message announcing the end of testing, employees will receive an email announcing the testing has concluded. At that point, employees can turn on sensitive electronic devices and departmental audiovisual equipment.
- Information Services staff will turn on audiovisual equipment in general pool and joint-controlled classrooms, prioritizing spaces with active classes. That process could take several days. To request faster service restoration for specific classrooms, people can submit a ticket at classroom technology support.
Anyone with questions about technology impacts and preparations should contact the User Support Services team that supports their unit or their department’s IT staff, as applicable.
If you experience an unexpected technology outage on Aug. 7, check the IT Service Status website. If the outage isn’t mentioned there and can’t easily be explained by the testing, please report the outage to Information Services through the UO Service Portal.
All other concerns about the power testing should be directed to the Work Control Center in Campus Planning and Facilities Management at workcontrolcenter@uoregon.edu or 541-346-2319.
Locations not included in the Island Mode testing: (updated 7/23/25)
510 Oak Street
515 E. Broadway
942 Olive
1600 Millrace
1658 Columbia Alley
1691 Columbia Alley
1715 Franklin
1776 Millrace
1900 Millrace
Agate Hall (1787 Agate St.)
Agate House (1795 Agate St.)
Alder Building (818 E.15th)
Baker Downtown Center (975 High St.)
Barnhart Hall (1000 Patterson St.)
Central Kitchen (1793 Columbia St.)
EC Cares Buildings (1500 W. 12th Ave plus modules)
East Campus Grad Village (1455 Moss St. / 1420 Villard St.)
KWAX (75 Centennial Loop)
LERC/Military Science (1675 and 1679 Agate St.)
McMorran House (2315 McMorran Drive)
Moss St. Children’s Center (1685 Moss St.)
NILI (1629 Moss St.)
Ombuds (1685 E. 17th Ave.)
Oregon Law Clinic (1695 E. 17th Ave.)
Parker Black Cultural Center (1870 E. 15th Ave.)
PeaceHealth North (677 12th Ave.)
Rainier (1244 Walnut St.)
Riley Hall (650 E. 11th Ave.)
Romania Warehouse (2020 Franklin Blvd.)
Thompson University Center (720 E. 13th Ave.)
Transportation Services (1401 Walnut St.)
University Motor Pool (Glenwood – 3233 Franklin Blvd.)
UO Annex (876 E. 12th Ave.)
UOPD East Station (2141 E. 15th Ave.)
Current construction and impacts information can be found on the UO Maps site.
