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Electrical Operations

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Electrical Operations

Electrical Operations consists of the Primary Systems Electrical Shop, the Power & Lighting Electrical Shop and the Electrical Utilities Engineering Group. Our combined staff of electrical trades, registered professional engineers, and administrative professionals own and provide stewardship for the electrical distribution and outdoor lighting systems of the Ann Arbor Campuses.

Electrical Operations responsibilities include:

  • Master planning to ensure the electrical system capacity supports future University growth
  • Planning to provide reliable power to new buildings, additions, and renovations in an economical manner
  • Operating, installing, testing, upgrading and maintaining the campus wide primary voltage electrical distribution system ​
  • Planning, maintaining, upgrading, and replacing building unit substations and outdoor lighting systems​
  • Planning, designing, installing, and maintaining the electric utility metering and remote data retrieval systems​
  • Providing electrical systems support to the Utilities Outlying Boiler and Tunnel Shops
  • Accurately monitoring building electrical consumption and approving electrical utility billing charges
  • Collaborating with AEC, UPO, Michigan Medicine and other departments to promote consistency of electrical installations
  • Collaborating with the Office of Campus Sustainability and other departments to promote electrical energy conservation and meet the University’s sustainability goals

Master planning to ensure the electrical system capacity supports future University growth

Planning to provide reliable power to new buildings, additions, and renovations in an economical manner

Operating, installing, testing, upgrading and maintaining the campus wide primary voltage electrical distribution system

Planning, maintaining, upgrading, and replacing building unit substations and outdoor lighting systems

Planning, designing, installing, and maintaining the electric utility metering and remote data retrieval systems

Providing electrical systems support to the Utilities Outlying Boiler and Tunnel Shops

Accurately monitoring building electrical consumption and approving electrical utility billing charges

Collaborating with AEC, UPO, Michigan Medicine and other departments to promote consistency of electrical installations

Collaborating with the Office of Campus Sustainability and other departments to promote electrical energy conservation and meet the University’s sustainability goals

Electrical Operations Facts

  • Power & Lighting maintains over 5000 light poles
  • Power & Lighting maintains over 5200 building mounted lights
  • Power & Lighting almost 100 miles of conduit/direct buried wire in the ground
  • Primary Systems has 700 manholes in service
  • Primary Systems has over 42 miles of duct bank

A substation is a high-voltage electric system facility. It is used to switch generators, equipment, and
circuits or lines in and out of a system. It also is used to change AC voltages from one level to another,
and/or change alternating current to direct current or direct current to alternating current. Some
substations are small with little more than a transformer and associated switches. Others are very large
with several transformers and dozens of switches and other equipment.

A switching station is a substation without transformers and operating only at a single voltage level.
Switching stations are sometimes used as collector and distribution stations where energy is routed
either from different sources or to different customers. For example, a switching station near an energy
generating facility may be able to switch some or all of its energy flow from one region to another as
needed or shut down transmission altogether in the event of a serious problem.

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