Thursday, January 27, 1994
When Hell froze over
by Hal D. Coffey
News Editor
"Bitter cold days with record
low nighttime temperatures have
driven the demand for electricity
beyond that which is available,
causing power outages in many
areas of the state," said Li
Governor and chairman of the
Pennsylvania Emergency
Management Council, Mark S.
Singel.
And with this announcement,
Pennsylvania was thrust into one
of its worst energy crises in 30
years, Pennsylvania Energy
Company (PENELEC)
Administrative Manager Carl
Broff said.
Across the state, some
businesses, schools and even city
halls either closed early or
shutdown altogether.
Even Erie's own City Hall
could not escape the energy
problems. With Mayor Joyce
Savocchio out of town, Director
of Public Works John G. Barran
was appointed mayor.
"We were asked to cut our
power down as much as possible
by PENELEC and the governor
in his proclamation," Barzano
said. "We decided this by
considering those factors and the
cold weather which was causing
our boilers and furnaces to
overwork."
Gannon University and Behrend
closed early on Wednesday, at 3
p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively,
while Edinboro University not
only closed operations early but
also remained closed all day
Thursday.
University Park closed at 2
p.m. on Wednesday and did not
reopen until 10 a.m. on
Thursday.
Gannon University
spokesperson Rebecca Martin
explained that her school's
"All counties are now
declared to be in
state of disaster
emergency..."
- Gov. Robert
Casey
decision to close early was two
fold.
"The decision was made in
cooperation with the PENELEC
request to reduce power as well as
the extreme cold weather
situation," Martin said.
Mary Daly, vice president of
External Affairs of Mercyhurst
College, said her college's
decision to remain open on
Wednesday was made due to the
percentage of students living on
campus (75%).
"We were not asked to close
since we were not affected by the
power grid closings."
Edinboro closed due to three
major factors.
"The weather was not just a
contributing factor in our
decision, but it was also a reason
for the (energy) crisis," assistant
vice president for Public
Information Bill Reed said. "The
weather was square one,
PENELEC two, and the
governor's proclamation was
third."
This proclamation that most
people mention was put out by
the governor's office on
Wednesday.
"In many classes, one
day may be too much
to miss"
- Dean of Student
Affairs Chris Reber
It stated, "All counties are now
declared to be in a state of disaster
emergency and are added to the
previously designated disaster
emergency atea."
The proclamation went on to
state that, "all reasonable efforts
to achieve immediate energy
conservation should be taken."
Lt. Gov. Singel said all
Pennsylvania residents should
reduce power to help end the
energy crisis.
"How serious conditions
become will be directly dependent
on how we all cooperate to reduce
this excessive demand for electric
power," Singel said.
The governor's office was
suggesting power reduction, but
they made no specific demands,
Deputy Press Secretary for the
governor John Taylor said.
"There was no mandate of
closing. We were urging to
curtail use," Taylor said. "The
governor does not have authority
over state-related schools, but he
urged conservation of electricity."
So how exactly did Behrend
come to the decision to close
early on Wednesday?
Under normal circumstances,
the Dean would decide whether to
remain open or not, but on
Wednesday Dean Lilley was out
of town. Because of this,
Assistant Dean Jack Burke made
the actual decision.
However, Burke did brainstorm
with several other administrators
early Wednesday afternoon in
making the final decision.
The consulted group included
Director of Operations John
Ream, Associate Dean of Student
Affairs Ken Miller, Manager of
Housing and Foods James
Bowen, Behrend heating and
ventilation expert Gerald Kerner,
Police and Safety Manager Bill
Donahue, and the three residence
life coordinators.
The group took into account
that classes were already in
progress, the PENELEC
notification of possible grid
shutdown, and the effect that
closing would have on residents
and commuters, Dean of Student
Affairs Chris Reber said.
Reber also said certain classes
may be severely hurt by a
cancellation.
"In many classes, one day may
be too much to miss," Reber
said.
On Thursday morning, the
same group chose to wait and see
whether the PENELEC
emergency would be lifted and if
there was any word from the
governor, Reber said.
John Ream felt that the
question of when Behrend would
make up a cancelled day of
classes was a key factor in
keeping the campus open on
Thursday.
"If we cancel classes, when do
we make them up?" Ream asked.
"Do we cancel a day out of a
spring tweak?"
Ream said PENELEC sales
representative Rick Holmes called
on Wednesday to alert Ream
about the rolling blackouts.
"The most significant
change in energy
output would occur if
we would close the
residence halls, but
that is not an option"
-Dean John Lilley
"He advised us to reduce energy
use but he did not request us to
close," Ream said. "So, we
reduced our electrical loads,
especially lighting."
Two major sources of
electricity use are the heating
systems in Lawrence and Niagara
Halls Ream said.
Behrend does not use up an
enormous amount of energy,
therefore the closing down of the
college would not really make a
significant dent in the energy
crisis Dean Lilley said.
"We're not a major player."
Lilley said. "When it comes to
energy, UP has a much more
significant role."
At Behrend, the most
significant source of electrical
energy is the residence halls
Lilley said.
"The most significant change
in energy output would occur if
we would close the residence
halls, but that is not an option."
As for a written policy for this
type of emergency, Dean Lilley
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- on 1119, twos colder In Erb, PA than t was
In Nome, Alaska
- on 1/19, Erb reached a word lewd -18
- at-30 wind chit skin sxposurs bat
becomes dampen:4ls
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Ed. (1120)
Er* (1)19)
\ Nome, Aluica (1119)
ei.
wind
chill
said the decision to close is a
judgement call.
"There is no formula. What
was significant was that the
rolling blackout mixed with the
cold weather created a definite
safety hazard," Lißey said.
In response to the decision to
keep Behrend open on Thursday,
three students organized a boycott
of classes.
One of the organizers was Dan
Sargent, a sophomore commuter
majoring in English, creative
writing.
Sargent said he and his friends
called about 500 residents and
told them of his plan for a
boycott of classes.
"We told people about the
governor's state of emergency,
that UP was closed earlier than us
on Wednesday, and that Erie was
one of the coldest places in the
state," Sargent said.
They decided to organize the
boycott after they cane into their
house freezing cold even though
they were wearing many layers of
clothing. Another factor was that
a couple of Sargent's friends were
injured in car accidents.
"I saw cars wiping out
everywhere on 1-90 on Monday,
including some of my friends.
One of those friends went to the
hospital after one such accident,"
Sargent said.
One personal concern the
organizers had was what Sargent
termed, "the abandonment of the
commuters by the admin
istration."
Edo tomporabsols coostosy cf WJET
Nome tomporatury cowboy of Edo Daly 71mos
Graphic; by Amoi Blida
In response to the claim this
Sargent and the other boycott
organizers made that the
administration ignored the
concerns of commuters, Lilley
said, "Whether we made the right
decision is up for argument, but
whether we ignored student
concerns is not."
Along with calls to students,
the boycott organizers also called
Dean Lilley and Chris Reber.
Lilley came back from out of
town on Wednesday night and
received, as he said, "the most
calls he has had in quite awhile."
"It doesn't guarantee perfection,
but it does involve thought
fulness," Lilley said.
PENELEC spokeperson Carl
Broff summed up the severity of
the energy crisis by looking back
on his career at the electric
company.
"This is the first time we have
done load shedding in my 30
years at PENELEC," Broff said.
He explained that bed shedding
is the process by which
PENELEC turned off certain
grids of power in order for more
critical areas to operate at near
normal levels.
Two of the main reasons for
the electrical problems were the
freezing of coal piles for the
generators and certain mechanical
difficulties Broff said.
Chris Reber expressed a general
feeling of the administration
about their job through the crisis,
including putting up notices of
classes being canceled.
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