Commons 2 unexpectedly lost power Monday at about 11:30 a.m.

The power outage was caused by a mechanical failure and contractors had to come repair it, said Anwar Cruter, associate director of South Campus Commons.

The power outage was about 45 minutes to an hour, Cruter said. This outage came just a few days after the first one, which occurred Saturday in Commons 2 at about 4:15 p.m. and lasted for about and an hour and a half.

This outage is related to the one that occurred on Saturday.

“Additional personnel and staffing were called in to address the issue the second time,” Cruter said. “They were already scheduled to come look at it today, then the mechanical failure happened again today, so it was able to be resolved quickly since contractors were already coming to look at the issue.”

At about 11:45 a.m. Cruter sent an email to residents notifying them of the outage.

“I had just bought a bag of spinach, so that was disappointing,” said Katie Haviland, a junior geographical sciences major who lives in the building. “I also had to take a shower in the dark.”

South Campus Commons staff worked with Pepco to fix the issue, Cruter wrote in the email.

“The power outage was pretty isolated and both were connected, but it was successfully solved today,” Cruter said.

The email also advised students to use the stairs at all times as the building’s elevators and appliances were not working.

The power outage also affected the building’s heat.

The University of Maryland’s Facilities Management supplies heat to Commons 2, Mary-Ann Ibeziako, director of energy and engineering, wrote in an email.

The department did not receive any complaints about the building’s heat, Ibeziako wrote in the email.

However, Cruter said the outage did not leave the building completely unheated.

“There was no active heat, but there was heat already in the pipes, which was still heating the building,” he said. “The building wouldn’t go absolutely cold due to an hour without electricity.”

Power was restored to the building at about 12:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, Cruter said.