The university will undergo a three-day electrical outage starting on Dec. 28 that will allow contractor crews to connect electrical feeders to the new state-of-the-art campus power grid.

Power to the campus will be restored on Dec. 30. Cal Poly Pomona is closed for winter break (Dec. 24 to Jan. 2) during the shutdown. The outage is needed to advance the Electrical Infrastructure Upgrade (EIU) Project.

Cal Poly Pomona has coordinated with Southern California Edison (SCE) to turn off power to the campus so that crews can disconnect lines from the old electrical feeders and re-connect them to the upgraded system.

Students living on campus during winter break will be housed in the Aliso Residence Hall, which will be powered by a portable generator. The Secoya and Sicomoro residence halls will be closed. The Centerpointe dining facility also will be shuttered.

University Drive starting from Collins Drive to Kellogg Drive will be closed. All on-campus traffic signals will not be operational during the power outage and stop signs will be placed at those locations. Lighting on campus will not be in operation but University Police is planning patrols.

The $32-million EIU Project is replacing the aged electrical distribution system, which has surpassed its service life. Once completed, the new electrical infrastructure will meet the power needs of the campus for the next 60 years and bring the campus into current electrical code requirements.

The new system utilizes fiber optic cables to communicate and offers immediate re-routing of electricity around failures, reducing the frequency and size of any unplanned outages.