Power outage on campus

Power is now restored to all campus buildings, albeit in some cases through the use of back-up generators.

Monday 10 December 11.30am:

Power is now restored to all campus buildings, albeit in some cases through the use of back-up generators.  

With the exception of some labs in the Chemistry building, we believe all buildings are now open as usual and we expect that teaching and research can now continue as normal. If you are aware of any ongoing problem in relation to the power outage, please call the Estates Helpdesk on Ext 35555 (0113 343 5555).

We expect to switch back to mains supply later in the week, once our supplier has completed essential works to a sub-station. We will communicate again once we know when this switch-over will take place. 

Thank you for your patience during the disruption. 

Friday 7 December 3.15pm:

EC Stoner will need to be vacated by 5pm tonight to allow essential maintenance work linked to the recent power outage. Staff are asked to ensure they have left the building by this time.

The work is expected to be completed overnight.

In addition, the power to the multi-storey car park has failed and car park users who are able to, might wish to leave before it becomes dark. As in recent days, security staff will be on hand to help.

If there are any significant developments related to the power outage, an update will be posted on For Staff before normal business resumes on Monday morning.

Friday 7 December 8.50am:

Buildings closed by the power outage will reopen today, except for Chemistry and Chemistry West.

We can confirm that power has returned to Clothworkers North and Brotherton Library, which will reopen no later than 11am today, once essential checks have been carried out.

The only buildings that remain closed are Chemistry and Chemistry West, which will reopen on Monday.

The majority of teaching should go ahead as normal and students are encouraged to check Minerva, Uni Leeds App and direct communications from their schools to confirm, if they are in any doubt. 

Please continue to check For Staff, the Library website and For Students for any further updates.

Thursday 6 December 5pm:

Following yesterday’s power outage most buildings affected, including EC Stoner, are expected to reopen on Friday morning.

However, Chemistry and Chemistry West will be closed until Monday. The Brotherton Library is expected to remain closed for at least some of Friday and Clothworkers North is expected to be operational as normal on Friday. 

Staff and students who are users of these last two buildings should check this site and the For Students website for updates first thing Friday morning.

While the majority of teaching should go ahead as normal on Friday, students are encouraged to check Minerva, Uni Leeds App and direct communications from their schools to confirm, if they are in any doubt. 

The advice on connecting to our IT systems remotely remains as of yesterday’s update, detailed on this page.

We will provide further updates on For Staff, the Library website and For Students as matters develop.

Thursday 6 December 11.30am:

Following yesterday’s power outage, the following buildings will fully re-open at 1pm today:

  • Baines Wing
  • Michael Sadler Building
  • Parkinson Building
  • Botany House

All other buildings that were closed yesterday are expected to remain closed for the remainder of the day. Please note, Brotherton library will no longer be reopening at 1pm.

Students are encouraged to check Minerva, Uni Leeds App and direct communications from their schools to confirm if teaching is going ahead this afternoon.

If teaching is planned this afternoon in Baines Wing, Michael Sadler Building or the Parkinson Building, there is a strong likelihood it will take place as normal.

The advice on connecting to our IT systems remotely remains as of yesterday’s update detailed on this page.

We will provide further updates on For Staff and For Students as matters develop.

Thursday 6 December 6.30am:

Buildings affected by yesterday’s power outage remain closed and staff and students based in them on a Thursday should not yet travel in.

Work continues to reconnect them and we hope that the majority of buildings affected will reopen around midday, once essential checks have been carried out. Once we have received confirmation we will update this website.

The advice on connecting to our IT systems remotely remains as of yesterday’s update detailed on this page (below).

Estates helpdesk number - urgent estates calls only

If you have an urgent call for the Estates helpdesk, the usual helpdesk number is now back in operation: ext. 35555. The numbers for Security, including the emergency number, remain open as usual.

Wednesday 5 December 2018 11.30am: 

Due to an incident at an off-site power substation, some buildings in the University are currently experiencing power cuts.  

As a result, we are shutting the following buildings for the rest of the day:

  • E C Stoner (please note that the schools of Mathematics and Earth and Environment remain open)
  • Brotherton Library
  • The Parkinson Building
  • Chemistry
  • The Baines Wing
  • The Michael Sadler Building
  • Physics Deck
  • Botany House
  • The Workshop Theatre
  • Education
  • English
  • Media and Communication
  • Part of Clothworkers Central
  • Music

The Laidlaw Library will be closing at 5pm today (Wednesday 5 December).

Staff and students are being asked to leave these buildings with immediate effect and, where possible, to work elsewhere on campus or at home for the remainder of the day (staff should lock offices and ensure that confidential material is secure).

Other main points to note are:

  • We anticipate that we will lose telephony services during the course of the afternoon, potentially across the majority of campus.
  • There is limited lighting in the multi-storey car park. Extra security staff will be on hand to assist people if necessary.
  • We are aware that some users may experience trouble accessing systems off-campus via Desktop Anywhere (Citrix Receiver). IT has posted advice on how to access these systems and services remotely.
  • The Social Sciences Building and The Laidlaw Library have maintained power but have lost their network connections.

Any health and safety or other serious problems caused by the power outage should be reported to Security (security@leeds.ac.uk; 0113 34 35494 or, in an emergency, 0113 34 32222).

It is not currently clear when the issue will be resolved, but urgent work is underway to reconnect the affected buildings. We expect them to be operational as normal tomorrow, but please check the For Staff website and the student website for updates during today and before setting off for work tomorrow.

Updated: 3.30pm, Wednesday 5 December

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