Physical Plant officials are asking on-campus students, faculty and staff to turn off any unnecessary electrical devices during the upcoming holiday weekend.

Plant employees will be connecting a new high-pressure steam line this weekend as part of a continuing expansion. The work will require employees to shut down one boiler and one generator.

The new addition to the Physical Plant will increase the reliability of campus steam and electrical systems, Director of Utility Services Bob Ellerhorst said in an e-mail sent to faculty, staff and residence hall students Friday.

The expansion will not be complete until January, but plant employees will start using new equipment in October.

Computers on campus consume a significant amount of electricity, and Ellerhorst asked that students turn the machines off when they're not in use.

"Every one of them is equivalent to two light bulbs," he said.

Ellerhorst stressed that staff and residents only need to turn off unnecessary devices, and ordinary activities should not cause a problem.

"It's business as usual," he said.