For Immediate Release: January 3, 2008
CANADORE COLLEGE RESTORING POWER, WILL OPEN MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2008
Canadore College and Nipissing University are restoring power after theft caused a complete power shutdown of the College Drive Campuses.
The electrical inspector has given the green light to Canadore College and Nipissing University to restore power to its College Drive campuses in North Bay after a theft of copper grounding wire caused a complete power shutdown.
Facilities personnel will be restoring power in a controlled manner which means the College and University will be closed until Monday, January 7 with the exception of essential personnel, who will be contacted by their supervisors. “To restore power properly it must be done slowly, unit by unit. It’s not just a matter of pulling a switch,” says Ewen Cornick, vice-president of administration Canadore College.
Once power has been restored, secondary systems such as email, phone messaging and registration systems will be brought back online; however, it is unknown what the extent of the damage will be to these systems until power has been fully restored.
The power interruption was first detected Thursday, December 27, 2007 when an indicator alarm went off at the Education Centre and personnel investigated. An explosion took place about 8 p.m. that night due to copper grounding wire that had been stolen which resulted in heat burning through the insulation of more than 2700 meters of wire until a powerful electrical arc hit the grid. A criminal investigation is ongoing.
