Armstrong High School Impacted by Power Outage

Students at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School experienced a power outage Wednesday, Feb. 20, and immediately took to Twitter using the #poweroutage tag.

One student joked, “The main reason I check twitter in the morning is to check for another AHS.” Another said, “Armstrong: where bringing a flashlight is an everyday occurrence.”

Tom Hoen, a spokesperson for Xcel Energy, told Patch that crews had to replace a broken breaker at the sub station yesterday morning. Hoen confirmed that power was out for about 35 minutes, beginning at 8:46 a.m. and ending at 9:21.

Armstrong students weren’t the only people digging for flashlights. Hoen said that about 1,635 customers in the area were also without power.

Robbinsdale Area Schools spokesperson Tia Clasen said that if the power goes out, teachers and students continue class, unless the outage is long-lasting.

In a statement Thursday, Armstrong High School Principal David Dahl said the following:

Armstrong has experienced several power outages this year as a result of problems with the EXECL ENERGY substation which powers the area of Plymouth that we are in.  When the power goes out in the building we immediately go to a Code Yellow lockdown which means classes continue as best they can but no students are to be in the halls or other areas of the building. The students need to be supervised during the power outage and a Code Yellow lockdown is the best way for us to keep everyone safe.  There is emergency lighting in the school which illuminates the building enough for everyone to be safe.  We assess the situation immediately and make a determination as to ending school early, etc. based on the information we receive from EXCEL ENERGY.  The staff and students have been extremely helpful during these outages keeping the building calm and orderly.  Hopefully the problems with the substation will be remedied so that we do not experience these types of outages in the future.

Hoen confirmed that the problem has been resolved.