Some students were encouraged to relocate from their residential halls after SRU’s upper campus faced a power outage that started around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22 and lasted until Thursday, Jan. 23 when it was restored around 4:45 p.m.

Two failed underground medium-voltage connections near Old Main and Miller Auditorium were responsible for an 18-hour outage on SRU’s upper campus, according to the university.

Students were not approved to return until 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“Students are encouraged to make arrangements for accommodations with friends and family as much as possible and to follow the direction of all Residence Life staff. During daytime operating hours, students are encouraged to visit the library, Campus Success Center, and Smith Student Center for access to electricity and/or Wi-Fi for personal use or online instruction,” an email alert stated at 1:44 a.m. Thursday morning.

Wednesday night, temperatures in Slippery Rock borough were in the single digits, while the temperature during the day was in the low 20s.

According to alerts and updates sent out to SRU students, power was restored around 4:40 p.m. but had not yet been approved for occupancy.

The university said all systems must be fully tested and functional to ensure safe occupancy. Once testing of the HVAC systems is complete, buildings will require time to be brought up to a comfortable operating temperature.

The university said Thursday afternoon that electrical maintenance work had been completed, and power has been restored to the upper campus. By 6:25 p.m. the buildings were ready for occupancy.