STATEMENT FROM MSU DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS SID SALTER:
At about 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, the Mississippi State University main campus in Starkville experienced an interruption of electric power that continued until about 5:30 p.m.
MSU mechanical and energy engineer J.D. Hardy said a protective relay between MSUâs electrical power substation and the MSU power generation plant experienced a voltage differential the caused the relay to deploy to protect the system. University officials reacted quickly to the power outage by initiating a âblack startâ of the emergency campus power generation plant.
Hardy said the protective relay continued to impede a return to normal power for several minutes. An MSU crew was then deployed to the substation for additional work and normal power was restored by 5:30 p.m.
Hardy said the overall MSU substation and power generation plant would remain âunder observationâ and that a more exhaustive report on what triggered the protective relay in the system would be available on Wednesday.
In May and June, MSU conducted highly successful tests of the capabilities at the university's power generation plant. Hardy credited those tests for the universityâs rapid response to Tuesdayâs power interruption. All systems have been operating on normal power since 5:30 p.m.
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