[link to tech.mit.edu]

MIT, Harvard, and the surrounding areas lost power from 4:26 to 6:37 p.m. yesterday. The outage threw the Institute into darkness — classes were canceled, MBTA service was delayed, and police were dispatched to direct traffic. Emergency power remained on in dormitories and around campus.

The problem is thought to be related to a transmission line in the area, said Michael Durand, NStar spokesman, to The Boston Globe yesterday. Nearly 17,000 customers were estimated to be without power.

MIT Medical shut down normal services early and switched to Urgent Care. Diane L. Magnuson, Manger of Diversity and Inclusion for the medical department, said they would have done this anyway at 5 p.m. The MIT Pharmacy, which usually closes at 7 p.m., also shut down early because of the outage. Besides the early closures, everything was running smoothly, she said.

John DiFava, director of facilities and chief of police, mentioned that Cogen was having issues yesterday morning, though the nature of these issues was unclear.

When asked for comment by The Tech, a crackly voice from the outside intercom of Cogen said that they were “having a plant shutdown right now,” and that they had no time to talk.

A text message alerting community members of the power outage was sent out at 5:26 p.m.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “It’s strange because there was no storm or anything. It’s like the apocalypse.”

“I planned on cooking tonight, but now with no power I learned an important survival tip — when the electricity goes out the food trucks are still open,” he explained.

(bolded for ridiculousness)

Two Green Line trains did collide yesterday morning at the Boylston Street station. Three dozen people were taken to hospitals, and nearly 200 passengers were estimated to be on board. Neither car was derailed, and no heavy damage was visible. This incident is not believed to be related to the power outage.