TCU explains why its campus was aglow amid calls for energy conservation
As energy providers plead with consumers to conserve energy, for those who are fortunate enough to actually have it, TCU’s campus on Monday night was a source of irritation for area neighbors as it was awash in brilliant light.
On Monday evening at 8 p.m., the large flood lights that light the intramural fields at TCU were on, as well as the video board at the nearby soccer complex, and two small scoreboards that displays the innings and score at the TCU baseball diamond.
The dormant campus was aglow.
Meanwhile, 1.3 miles away on Hulen Avenue, a block of houses and apartments were without power for more than 24 hours.
Throughout DFW on Monday night neighbors and citizens looked angrily at any home or office that was using anything remotely regarded as unnecessary power. That included downtown skylines, office buildings and other “non essential” consumers that were drawing from an over-extended power grid that was not built to handle this once-every-other-century storm.
Most of the lights that came on all over TCU’s campus are there to provide safety for students and pedestrians as they walk after dark. Nearly all of the lights are operated by timers.
According to TCU officials, after a few hours, TCU turned off the floodlights on the intramural fields. The schedule for those lights has been adjusted to be off until Feb. 26.
“The intramural lights are on an automatic schedule — a well-lit campus is part of our public safety plan,” TCU said in a statement. “Modifications to the lighting schedule are executed by a contract partner off-campus. We requested a modification yesterday, and those changes have since been made. The lights should not be on this evening.”
For a short time downtown Fort Worth was also aglow, but eventually all of the iconic skylights were shut off and will remain off for the remainder of the energy crisis, said Downtown Fort Worth Inc. president Andy Taft.
Building operators worked throughout Monday to decrease power usage downtown, Taft said, and some buildings powered off accent lights sooner than others. 777 Main was lit up longer than many other buildings, but was expected to be dark Tuesday night.
Mayor Betsy Price’s office coordinated with downtown officials to decrease power usage, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The city owns the iconic Pier 1 tower, which will be converted into City Hall. The tower was dark Monday night and will be throughout the emergency.
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 4:07 PM.
