Division of Campus Affairs

Facilities Management Services

TO:   Shutdown Group and All Facility Coordinators

FROM:  Service Response Center

DATE:  August 31, 2015

SUBJECT: Reduce Electric Power Demand 9/1 – 9/3

The electric power grid serving CMU is experiencing high demands with rising temperatures across multiple regions.  FMS is asking you to help reduce our electric power demand tomorrow, 9/1, thru Thursday, 9/3.  Although maintaining reliability on the electric grid is our major driver for doing this, there are also financial and environmental incentives for minimizing our impact during peak periods. 

During this time, FMS personnel will be adjusting our primary electric user – air conditioning systems – and look for your support with ‘plug loads’ like computers, copiers and printers.   FMS will turn AC off in unoccupied spaces and will allow temperatures to vary more widely than usual in non-critical occupied spaces.  We ask for your cooperation in this effort by doing the following:

•         Turn off lights and non-essential electrical equipment if you can manage to continue your normal tasks without them and when you leave for the day.  Some examples would be window air conditioners, computers, printers, and copiers.

•         Please notify us if your current schedule for registrar controlled classrooms does not match that shown in Spacequest or if you have non-registrar meeting spaces that will be unoccupied.   Also, we are asking for you to call or e-mail if any other large rooms in your department are not being occupied during this time so FMS AC Mechanics can program the thermostats to reduce the cooling.

Thank you for your help in making this happen.  If you have any questions about this shutdown, contact the Service Response Center at X2910 or fixit@andrew.cmu.edu.