During the next three years, Wayne State's campus will undergo major electrical infrastructure conversions that should ultimately reduce building power outages and provide additional electrical capacity.
The Board of Governors has approved the awarding of contracts to begin design phase activities for the construction of several building electrical infrastructure upgrade projects that will convert buildings that were formerly fed from the Detroit Public Lighting Department (PLD) to the Detroit Edison Company (DTE).
PLD previously supplied electrical power to 44 campus buildings, representing more than half of the electricity consumed annually by the university. Historically known for being unreliable, the PLD infrastructure has caused numerous power outages over the years that have impacted every aspect of normal operations, including the cancellation of classes and closure of the campus.
Beyond the campus closures, power outages have contributed to other negative results, including lost in-process research experiments, lost or damaged research specimens or material inventories, damaged research instruments, damaged building support equipment, and lost data.
In 2014, PLD no longer served as an electric utility provider and DTE assumed responsibility to supply electric power to all former PLD customers. The transition of service responsibility to DTE includes a commitment to replace the PLD infrastructure that supplies electricity to the university and other former PLD customers.
"A campuswide infrastructure overhaul project of this magnitude requires a major commitment of design planning, time allocation and careful implementation," said Mark Allen, WSU Facilities Planning and Management interim associate vice president. "At the eventual conclusion of the multi-year project, the university community will reap the benefits of having additional and reliable electrical capacity and a more secure research environment."
The conversion process will include constructing two new electrical substations that will support the Midtown area, installing new underground conduits and cables, and new above-ground transformers and switching equipment to each of the former PLD buildings.
Of the 44 university buildings to receive new electrical service from DTE, five would ideally have portions of their electrical systems upgraded at the same time including: Engineering Building, State Hall, Life Science, Science and Engineering Library. and Shapero Hall. Each building has electrical infrastructure components that are obsolete, antiquated, out of code compliance and/or beyond their useable service life.
Additionally, the existing electric service to the university's computing center is at maximum capacity, and the data center's HVAC and power systems are obsolete and well beyond their service life. The athletic complex also has severe electrical power capacity constraints. Both of these facility issues will be addressed during the design phase.
Construction Timetable
- The conversion of the university's 44 buildings to new DTE services is expected to take place in multiple phases during the next three years, beginning in late summer or early fall of 2016. DTE will construct new underground duct banks and conduit pathways around the perimeter of campus, mostly on Warren Avenue and Anthony Wayne Drive.
- During 2017 and 2018, steps will be taken to physically connect each building to new electrical services provided by DTE.
- The recently adopted proposal only approves the design fees. WSU's administration will solicit competitive bids following design completion, and may request construction approval sometime next winter.