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Hold On To Your Hats, Folks, It’s About to Get Dark (On Purpose!)
Ever wonder what would happen if the power grid went kaput? For most of us, it’s a minor inconvenience involving melted ice cream and a frantic search for candles. But for military bases? It’s a whole different ballgame, potentially involving national security Armageddon! Luckily, Lincoln Laboratory is tackling this issue head-on, in a manner both ingenious and slightly terrifying: by turning off the lights!
When the Lights Go Out, the Fun Begins (Sort Of)
The Energy Resilience Readiness Exercises (ERREs) are exactly what they sound like: orchestrated power outages designed to stress-test a base’s ability to cope. Imagine the scene: the power goes out, alarms blare (probably), and everyone scrambles to figure out if the backup generators actually work. It’s like a real-life action movie, except with more paperwork afterward.
Why Are We Doing This? (Besides Sheer Entertainment Value)
Our national power grid is, shall we say, “vintage.” According to a Department of Energy report, a staggering 70% of transmission lines are nearing the end of their lifespan. Add in increasing power demands, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. The Department of Defense (DoD) is wise to this, focusing sharply on energy resilience – the ability to not just survive outages, but to thrive (or at least, not descend into total chaos).
The Method to This Calculated Madness
The ERREs aren’t just about flipping a switch and watching the sparks fly. The Lincoln Laboratory team meticulously plans each exercise, collaborating closely with base leadership to identify vulnerabilities and ensure safety. Christopher Lashway aptly puts it by saying they connect mission owners to their utility providers to fix issues ahead of the outage. It’s a chance to address potential problems before they become actual crises.
Lessons Learned in the Dark (Literally)
What have these exercises revealed? Brace yourselves, because it’s not always pretty. Common issues include:
- Backup systems that are about as reliable as a chocolate teapot.
- Generators that fail to start because nobody remembered to feed them.
- Air conditioning systems that are mysteriously absent from emergency circuits (leading to overheated computers and general misery).
As Robert McMahon, former assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, put it, there was a “lack of appreciation and understanding by our senior leaders…of what we thought was going to happen versus what actually occurred.” In other words, reality often differs significantly from PowerPoint presentations.
Turning Lemons into Lemonade (or Darkness into Enlightenment)
The ERREs aren’t just about identifying problems; they’re about finding solutions. After each exercise, the Lincoln Laboratory team compiles a detailed report, providing recommendations to address vulnerabilities and secure the resources needed to fix them. And their campaign has been so successful, Congress passed a law requiring each military branch to perform at least five ERREs per year.
What’s Next? The Future is Resilient (Hopefully)
The team’s focus is now expanding to water resiliency, microgrids, and even ways to improve energy resilience for civilians. Because let’s face it, we could all use a little more “lights on” and a little less “total blackout” in our lives. As Jean Sack says, they are encouraged that their work is impacting the services at the highest level.
So, the next time the lights flicker, remember the unsung heroes at Lincoln Laboratory, bravely plunging military bases into darkness to make us all a little safer. They’re not just testing the system; they’re illuminating the path to a more resilient future.
