Campus Alert Archive
WSU

A Substation Breaker Fails and Darkens Wright State on a Sunday Afternoon

OHpower outageadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Sunday, November 10, 2019, a power outage affected Wright State University and the surrounding area, discovered around 4:27 p.m. EST. The cause was a breaker issue at a Dayton Power & Light substation on Colonel Glenn Highway near campus that serves a large portion of Greene County. No injuries were reported.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Wright State University
Public R2 · OH
~12,000 studentsWright State Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction137 chars
Wright State Alert: A power outage is affecting the Dayton campus and surrounding area. Crews are assessing the cause. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from The Wright State Guardian's report that the outage was discovered around 4:27 p.m. EST and affected campus and the surrounding area; the exact Wright State Alert wording was not recoverable.
WHIO attributed the outage to a breaker issue at a Dayton Power & Light substation on Colonel Glenn Highway near campus.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction125 chars
Wright State Alert: Power has been restored to the Dayton campus. Normal operations will resume. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from reporting that service was restored to campus after Dayton Power & Light addressed the substation breaker issue; the verbatim closing alert could not be retrieved.
Treated as an all-clear because it announces restoration of power and normal operations.
Context

Background

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 10, 2019, a power outage hit Wright State University and the surrounding area, discovered around 4:27 p.m. EST. According to WHIO, the cause was a breaker issue at a Dayton Power & Light substation on Colonel Glenn Highway near campus, a substation that serves a large portion of Greene County. The university communicates outages and any related closures through Wright State Alert, its emergency notification system. Weekend infrastructure outages are common but underreported campus events; they rarely cause injury but disrupt residence halls, dining, and any scheduled activities, and they test whether an institution's alert system reaches students who are off the academic-week rhythm.
Analysis

Key Findings

A Dayton Power & Light substation breaker issue caused a Sunday-afternoon outage at Wright State discovered around 4:27 p.m. EST on November 10, 2019
The affected substation on Colonel Glenn Highway serves a large portion of Greene County
No injuries were reported and power was later restored
Both alert texts are honest reconstructions; the official Wright State Alert wording could not be retrieved, so neither is marked verbatim
Outcome
Power restored to campus and the surrounding area; no injuries reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Campus affected by Sunday power outage - The Wright State Guardian
    wsuguardian.com
  2. News
    Wright State power outage - WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio
    whio.com
Tags
power-outageohioinfrastructuresubstationadvisory
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion