Following a summer of unreliable power due to a degraded substation that provides power to the Fort Hamilton Army Base, NY, and the summer’s extreme heat further straining the already weakened system, Service members from the 249th Engineer Battalion officially began 24/7 operations to maintain consistent power for all installation operations and quality of life services on Aug.18.
The 249th Engineer Battalion, also known as Prime Power, is assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and is the U.S. Army’s only military and federal relief power provider. This versatile power generation battalion has the capability to provide commercial-level power to military units and federal relief organizations during full-spectrum operations.
Prime Power will temporarily fulfill the installation’s power needs for up to 90-days while Fort Hamilton’s Directorate of Public Works team works to repair the degraded substation that has been operating at a limited capacity since July 3.
While there’s currently no timeline for completing repairs to the substation, having these Warfighters running the installation’s electricity will ease the strain on the installation’s substation allowing DPW to continue collaborating with New York’s energy landscape and other agencies to develop a long-term solution.
“We’re grateful to have Prime Power, led by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Guerreo and Sgt. 1st Class Porter, at Fort Hamilton so that full base operations and services can resume and our tenants and residents can get back to norm following a summer of aggressive energy savings,” said Col. Misty Cantwell, Fort Hamilton commander.
Prime Power will temporarily fulfill the installation’s power needs for up to 90-days while Fort Hamilton’s Directorate of Public Works team works to repair the degraded substation that has been operating at a limited compacity since July 3. (USACE photo by Susan Blair)
Prior to Prime Power’s arrival, the Garrison leveraged generator power for critical operations, encouraged teleworking, reduced business hours, relocated services, and temporarily closed certain facilities during peak consumption hours. Residents were also asked to limit their energy use. These USACE Soldiers are enabling continuous operation at near maximum load while maintaining flexibility for fluctuating demands.
The Prime Power platoon is led by a Warrant Officer and consists of 14 U.S. Army Prime Power Production Specialists who are qualified to work with medium voltage systems (601-69,000 volts), and two Interior Electricians certified Soldiers. They are one of 12 assets from the 249th Engineer Battalion that provides power generation capabilities using MEP-810D generators, producing up to 3.6 megawatts of power, and 2.7MW sustained with organic equipment per platoon.
They are mission capable of deploying all personnel and hand-carried equipment within 72 hours of notification. The platoon’s Deployable Power Generation and Distribution System equipment is transportable by line hauls, air, rail, and sea within almost the same timeframe.
The 249th Engineer Battalion operates on a heightened alert and constantly trains to be ready to deploy when called-upon to provide Power Station to support military contingency operations or Defense Support of Civil Authorities missions.
