Hot water, building heat issues linger at Michigan State University campus

Hot water and heating issues linger in parts of Michigan State University in East Lansing, which continues to experience utility problems after a power plant failure over the weekend. 

With that, decisions on remote learning vs. in-person classes have been made on a case-by-case basis for Tuesday. 

The outage at the power plant that serves the campus happened about 4:15 p.m. on Saturday. Electricity was restored to most of the campus by 2:52 a.m. Sunday. Only a few specific locations on campus have emergency generators, the university said, and the equipment that connects to the external electrical grid was damaged. 

The resulting disruptions included internet service, cellular service, hot water and heat. The dining halls remained open, but some shifted their menus to work around the disruptions. 

The MSU campus moved to online classes and remote work on Monday. Some classes will move back to in-person instruction on Tuesday, and students should watch for updates from their faculty and academic departments. 

Guskiewicz said the inspection, restoration and repairs are taking place on a building-by-building basis. 

"To our students living on campus, these inconveniences impact you the most. I am sorry for that. We are working on plans to provide access to hot showers, as the timelines for restoration of normal temperature and steam pressure will vary across residence halls," the college president said.