Once again University students and Charlottesville area residents were left in the dark after Wednesday afternoon's power outage. A total of 4,500 people lost power and had to wait until early yesterday morning for it to return. Power outages have plagued the area over the past few weeks.
According to Old Dominion Power Spokesperson Dan Genest, the large number of blackouts can be attributed to afternoon thunderstorms that have passed through the Charlottesville area.
The recent power outages occurred when lightning hit power poles or when strong winds blew branches or trees onto power lines and knocked them over. Lightning also tripped breakers and destroyed motherboards which caused power problems for several areas on Grounds including Hereford College and the Alderman and McCormick Road Residence areas.
Although many outages lasted only a few hours, 6,000 residents found themselves without power Saturday night from 3:30 p.m. until 9 a.m. Sunday morning.
Until last winter, Virginia was in the midst of a record setting drought. This year, however, the thunderstorms have been severe and the rainfall heavy, causing disruptions that result in power outages. According to rough estimates, Virginia is 20 inches ahead of the annual rainfall.
Many students quickly have become tired of the inconvenience and reported that these outages have occurred about a dozen times since their return to Grounds.
At first, the outages provided some excitement as students passed the hours playing games or cards by candlelight, but now these outages have begun to interfere with students' classes and homework.
"I was alright with the outages until it reset my alarm clock and caused me to miss my 9:30 a.m. class that allows only one absence," said third-year College student Randall Pierce, a Lambeth resident.
In addition to frustration, the outages have enormous financial consequences, Associate Chief Housing Officer Marshall Hunt said.
"We have had to get crews from around the state to repair the motherboards which were struck by lightning," he said. "The costs are expected to be somewhere between $65,000 and $75,000, and Housing will have to pay because it receives no state support."
There is no exact date when the power problems are expected to be corrected.
"The problems will end when the thunderstorms end," Genest said.
Until then, it is likely that some students and University officials will be faced with the frustration of large bills and hours without power.
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