Campuswide Steam Outage: Updates and Communications

Update: January 29, 2026 at 11:30 p.m. | Heat Outage

Location: Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Queen Anne's, Somerset, & St. Mary's Halls

Dear Terp,

Facilities Management has isolated a leaking pipe and heat has been restored to Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Queen Anne's, Somerset, and St. Mary's Halls.  We are seeing temperatures rising in those buildings.  Please allow some time for heat to return to normal ranges.

If you have a thermostat and switched it to "off" during the outage, please turn it back on at this time. 
We appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this repair. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the service center at 301-314-9675.

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities

Update: January 29, 2026 at 6 p.m. | Heat Outage

Location: Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Queen Anne's, Somerset, & St. Mary's Halls

Dear Terp,

There is an emergency heat outage in Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Queen Anne's, and St. Mary's halls due to a suspected underground pipe leak.  Facilities Management is on site investigating and determining next steps.  We do not have an estimated restoration time at this point, but will send updates as we learn more.

The heat is currently on in Somerset Hall, but is operating at a reduced capacity.  The building may feel cooler than normal.

The warming stations set up for the campus steam outage yesterday are still available in each building.  Blankets are also still available at Annapolis Hall.

Hot water service is not impacted by this outage.

We appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this repair. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the Residential Facilities Service Center at 301-314-9675.

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities

Update: January 29, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.

Dear Terp,

Facilities Management has reestablished steam service to the campus Central Energy Plant, and steam service is now normalizing across campus. Heating and hot water temperatures in the residence halls are at our near normal temperature ranges. Residential Facilities staff are performing inspections in all residence halls to check for any issues with heating or hot water equipment.

As reminders:

• Please continue to keep windows and doors closed to help buildings retain heat
• Dress warmly
• If you turned off your thermostat or fan coil unit during the outage, you may now switch it back to the “heat” setting

If after Noon today, your heating system is not producing warm air or water temperatures are not hot in your sink or showers, please call the 24-hour Residential Facilities service center at 301-314-9675 or submit a request on Facilities Service Central so our staff can investigate the issue.

Yesterday, the Resident Life and Residential Facilities teams supplied service desks with extra blankets and established warming centers in each residence hall community. The forecasted severe cold over the next several days may still cause intermittent outages as underground pipes freeze, disrupting steam service. The facilities teams are working around the clock to address issues that may impact service. With campus closures and classes cancelled for today and tomorrow, we know that some students who live locally may want to return home until the start of classes. Please know that staff remain available to assist students living on campus who need support, and dining halls remain open from 10:00 A.M.-7:00 P.M. to provide food service.  

We understand this is not an ideal situation and appreciate your patience and understanding while teams worked to restore steam service, and continue to monitor systems closely.   We will continue to share updates as more information becomes available.  

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities

Update: January 28, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

Dear Terp,

At 1:15PM, the campus’s Central Energy Plant lost steam service again, impacting heat and hot water service in all buildings throughout campus, including residence halls. Facilities Management is working to restore steam service as quickly as possible and we will update you when we have information on a restoration timeline.

• During the temporary loss of heat and hot water:
  • Keep windows and doors tightly closed to retain as much heat as possible inside your residence hall.
  • Dress warmly and in layers as needed.
  • If you have an in-unit thermostat or Fan Coil Unit with a dial, you may wish to switch it to “Off” during the outage to keep the system from blowing cold air.
  • Do not light candles or use other unapproved heating devices due to a risk of fire.
  • This outage does NOT impact cold water. Sinks and toilets will continue to operate normally.
• Dining halls will be open until 7:00PM today (North & South Campus Markets until 8:00PM) with limited menu offerings due to the impact of the outage on cooking equipment. When steam is restored and full food production is available, Dining Services will resume regular menus.

We apologize for the disruption caused by this campus-wide issue and appreciate your continued patience. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the 24-hour Residential Facilities Service Center at 301-314-9675.

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities

Update: January 28, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.

Dear Terp,

Facilities Management has restored steam service to the campus Central Energy Plant and steam pressure is beginning to rise across campus. We expect to see building heating and hot water temperatures gradually warm, reaching normal temperature ranges in about 4 hours.

• Please continue to keep windows and doors closed to help buildings retain heat and dress warmly.
• If you turned off your unit/room’s thermostat or fan coil unit during the outage, please switch those back on to “Heat” at this time.
• Campus Dining Halls will be open from 10:00am-7:00pm today, initially with limited menu offerings due to the outage impact on cooking equipment.  As full steam pressure is restored to the dining halls, Dining Services will resume today's planned regular menus for lunch and dinner.

We appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this repair. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the Service Center at 301-314-9675.

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities

Update: January 28, 2026 at 6:30 a.m.

Dear Terp,

Earlier this morning, the campus’s Central Energy Plant lost steam service, impacting heat and hot water service in all buildings throughout campus including residence halls. Facilities Management is working to restore steam service as quickly as possible and we will update you when we have information on a restoration timeline.

• During the steam outage and temporary loss of heat and hot water:
  • Keep windows and doors tightly closed to retain as much heat as possible inside your residence hall.
  • Dress warmly and in layers as needed.
  • If you have an in-unit thermostat or Fan Coil Unit with a dial, you may wish to switch it to “Off” during the outage to keep the system from blowing cold air.
  • Do not light candles or use other unapproved heating devices due to a risk of fire.
  • This outage does NOT impact cold water. Sinks and toilets will continue to operate normally.
• Dining halls will be open from 10:00AM-7:00PM today with limited menu offerings due to the impact of the outage on cooking equipment. When steam is restored and full food production is available, Dining Services will resume regular menus.

We apologize for the disruption caused by this campus-wide issue and appreciate your patience. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the 24-hour Residential Facilities Service Center at 301-314-9675.

Sincerely,

Residential Facilities