It’s electric: NGU has the power–or do they?
Keely Lyons, News and Features Editor
In light of numerous power outages, it’s no wonder everyone feels in the dark. That’s why North Greenville University faculty explains why some of these blackouts are out of their hands.
Power outages occur from many things, whether it is in the case of rain, snow or thunderstorms. Sometimes it’s a car hitting a pole down the street, or even the result of a rogue tree. Billy Watson, senior associate vice president for Tigerville operations at NGU, spoke of the most recent outage on Aug. 25, 2022. Watson said, “We do know last week what happened is a tree fell on a power line.” In order to safely remove the tree off the line, the line itself had to be cut, said Watson.
Duke Power and Blue Ridge Electric are the two companies that control the region. Because of where the lines fall, one part of the campus operates on Blue Ridge while other areas are controlled by Duke. This means Tingle Student Center may be illuminated, while other buildings are not, said Watson.
To make things more complicated, Todd Dining Hall is not exempt from the affect of power outages. Watson said, “They had to close early because they had to get everything clean because they usually stay open until eight, but by eight it’s usually totally dark outside and so they had to close at seven so they could get everything clean.” It was fortunate the last outage didn’t last long, otherwise it would have affected the dining hall in a more negative way, said Watson.
In emergency situations, the school has two generators that are to be installed in the dining hall. Watson said, “They won’t operate the whole dining hall, but they operate enough to run the coolers, the grill where they can cook and obviously keep the food cool.”
Watson said, “I know it sounds bad, but we’d rather lose the rest of campus than lose this building [Todd Dining Hall and Tingle Student Center] because even if it’s cold weather, we can get everybody into this building and at least feed everybody.”
One caveat of living as a student on campus during a power outage is losing wifi. Devonaire Willoughby, junior digital media major, said, “I can’t get my work done. The wifi goes out, of course. It’s always at a bad time.”
In the spring semester of 2022, Willoughby still had to go to class, despite the situation. Willoughby said, “That was torture. We shouldn’t have had to go to class. I think she [my professor] let us out early, though. I can’t remember. We had a couple of classes, but I did not enjoy that day.”
Willoughby spoke more positively of the campus snow-in from the same semester, although the Tigerville campus experienced a snow-induced blackout. Willoughby said, “I just went out and played in the snow with friends.”
In the case of inconvenience, students can find ways to make the best of their time on campus and can cooperate with the staff as they try to resolve the issue. Watson said, “You think when the power goes out, it’s going to be out for a long time. Usually, that’s not the case.”
The staff of NGU agrees that food will not be an issue in case of a power outage, so there is no need for hysterics. Watson said, “You don’t have to go out to get something to eat because we’re going to feed you one way or the other.”
The best thing that can be done in the winter during snow and ice is not to panic, but to enjoy the peace and solace of no school and snowy weather. Watson said, “‘Well, it’s going to be cold.’ Well, the big thing is just to keep your clothes on and go get in the bed. You’ll survive and be warm.”
Because NGU is controlled by two separate power companies, NGU is constantly at their mercy and must wait on them to finish their job. Watson said, “The big thing, is we are going to take care of people.”
