Utilities
Ohio State Energy Partners manages Ohio State’s electricity, heating and cooling needs in order to maintain university operations. Click below to learn more about Ohio State’s utilities.
- Technical support to maintain 99.9% utility service reliability
- Utility system planning for the Infrastructure Master Plan
- System modeling for capacity evaluation and growth studies
- Campus distribution and energy conversion system optimization
- Campus power plant and central chill plant controls
- Specialized technical consulting on utility system equipment, steam piping, electrical systems safety, energy conservation, process communication and controls
- Ohio State manages domestic water, storm, sanitary sewer, heating hot water and compressed air
- More information about OSU’s areas of responsibilities can be found on the Facilities Operations and Development website
McCracken Power Plant
- Operation of 6 central plant boilers and 9 central plant chillers
- Central steam and/or hot water to 80% of the Columbus campus
- Central chilled water for air conditioning in 37 buildings in the central campus area, including the RPAC and Fisher College of Business
- Compressed air to buildings on the main campus for laboratories and pneumatic controls
South Campus Central Chiller Plant
- Operation of 8 district plant chillers
- Chilled water to 12 Wexner Medical Center hospital buildings
- Chilled water to additional buildings in planning and design
East Regional Chilled Water Plant
- Operation of 6 district plant chillers
- Chilled water to 29 buildings in the Academic Core North and North Residential District in planning and design
- Maintains an extensive system of underground electrical, steam, condensate, heating hot water and natural gas systems in utility tunnels, trench boxes and direct buried locations
- Operates and maintains 8 master meter gas distribution systems
- Construction and maintenance outage coordination and planning support to plant operations
- Ohio State, West Campus and Smith Substation operation and circuit switching
- Electrical energy services to campus buildings
- Electrical fault studies and system planning
- Medium and high voltage system maintenance and repair
- Includes building transformers
- Utility Plant electrical system repair and maintenance
- Provides 99.9% electrical reliability utilizing redundant circuits to most campus buildings
If a leak occurs, it is important for you to be able to recognize it. Gas occurring naturally from the earth cannot be seen or smelled. But natural gas from pipelines on the Ohio State Columbus campus has been treated with an odorant, smelling like rotten eggs, so you should be able to smell it. Here are the telltale signs of a potential gas leak:
- A distinctive rotten egg smell
- A shrill blowing or hissing sound
- Dirt being blown or thrown into the air
- Bubbles coming from or water being blown into the air at a puddle, pond, creek or river
- Fire apparently coming from the ground or burning above the ground
- Patches of brown vegetation in grassy areas
- Dry dirt spots in grassy areas
If you suspect a gas leak on campus or sense an emergency with our natural gas pipeline facilities, please do the following:
- Immediately evacuate the area.
- Call Service2Facilities at 614-292-HELP so the leak can be verified and corrective measures can be taken. This phone number is staffed 24-7, so don’t wait to call.
- During this time, avoid open flames or other ignition sources, including operating light switches, garage door openers or motor vehicles.
All utilities — both university and public — must be properly located and marked before any digging.
Contact the Ohio Utility Protection Service (800-362-2764) for utility marking, both university-owned and public utilities. OUPS will forward your request to Ohio State personnel for handling, and they will be in touch with you direct.
By law, everyone MUST contact the OHIO811, 8-1-1 or 1-800-362-2764, at least 48 hours but no more than 10 working days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) before beginning ANY digging project.
Check the status of your request or call 800-445-3894 with your ticket number.
Standard legal notice: Information regarding the natural gas pipeline facilities operated and maintained by ENGIE Services Inc. is required by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
For more information about ENGIE Services’ natural gas program, please contact ENGIE Services’ Utilities group at 614-292-3428.