Beale begins multi-year electrical infrastructure repair, upgrade Published July 25, 2013 By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Beale Air Force Base began the first phase of a $50 million, multi-year electrical infrastructure repair and upgrade project July 6, by placing high-voltage wires in the Base Exchange parking lot underground and replacing a high voltage utility pole. The project is the direct result of a 2012 study by Air Combat Command that said the electrical infrastructure was degraded or unsatisfactory. Burying the high-voltage lines and replacing electrical poles around base is the start of modernizing the base's electrical grid, according to Rob Nordahl, 9th Civil Engineering Squadron Chief of Programs. "In order to bury the lines, we had to bring down power for the whole base except for housing and the clinic," he said. "It is a very time-consuming process because each building had to be shut down in sequence and then turned back on when the project was done. This is a system that has been around for decades, but as we modernize, we won't have to cut the power for the whole base to work on a specific section." One of the most pressing concerns in Phase 1 is 19 electrical poles that have degraded to the point of justifying emergency replacement. Eleven of those poles are located in environmentally protected areas on base, home to vernal pools that provide a habitat for endangered species like Fairy Shrimp. The remaining eight poles, however, will be replaced by the end of FY13. "The poles are dangerously degraded," Nordahl said. "When we disconnected the high-voltage lines from one of them during the July 6 project, it was clear that the lines were the only thing keeping it upright. The base of the pole looked like it had been damaged by beavers." Another important part of this project was the 9th Contracting Squadron, who enabled work to include the one emergency utility pole repair in the Base Exchange parking lot high voltage project. "They completed a contract modification in approximately one week to support this critical electric system project", said Nordahl. According to Steve Moulis, 9th CES construction oversight, placing the high-voltage lines underground and replacing the electrical poles is safer and more reliable. It also avoids a vehicle mishap with a utility pole causing failure in the electrical supply for the base. Additional repair projects will bury the low-voltage lines in the Beale West and Beale East housing areas, further modernizing a system that is showing its age. Future phases include moving the electrical lines near roadways instead of through open fields to avoid environmental impact; adding a second electrical substation; and continuing to modernize the infrastructure. The entire electrical system repair will cost an estimated $50 million, and budget uncertainties can slow the project timetable. Nordahl said upgrading the electrical infrastructure is important for Beale's mission success. "The base relies on this system to provide stable, steady power," he said. "Without power, the warfighter downrange doesn't get intel."
Beale begins multi-year electrical infrastructure repair, upgrade Published July 25, 2013 By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Beale Air Force Base began the first phase of a $50 million, multi-year electrical infrastructure repair and upgrade project July 6, by placing high-voltage wires in the Base Exchange parking lot underground and replacing a high voltage utility pole. The project is the direct result of a 2012 study by Air Combat Command that said the electrical infrastructure was degraded or unsatisfactory. Burying the high-voltage lines and replacing electrical poles around base is the start of modernizing the base's electrical grid, according to Rob Nordahl, 9th Civil Engineering Squadron Chief of Programs. "In order to bury the lines, we had to bring down power for the whole base except for housing and the clinic," he said. "It is a very time-consuming process because each building had to be shut down in sequence and then turned back on when the project was done. This is a system that has been around for decades, but as we modernize, we won't have to cut the power for the whole base to work on a specific section." One of the most pressing concerns in Phase 1 is 19 electrical poles that have degraded to the point of justifying emergency replacement. Eleven of those poles are located in environmentally protected areas on base, home to vernal pools that provide a habitat for endangered species like Fairy Shrimp. The remaining eight poles, however, will be replaced by the end of FY13. "The poles are dangerously degraded," Nordahl said. "When we disconnected the high-voltage lines from one of them during the July 6 project, it was clear that the lines were the only thing keeping it upright. The base of the pole looked like it had been damaged by beavers." Another important part of this project was the 9th Contracting Squadron, who enabled work to include the one emergency utility pole repair in the Base Exchange parking lot high voltage project. "They completed a contract modification in approximately one week to support this critical electric system project", said Nordahl. According to Steve Moulis, 9th CES construction oversight, placing the high-voltage lines underground and replacing the electrical poles is safer and more reliable. It also avoids a vehicle mishap with a utility pole causing failure in the electrical supply for the base. Additional repair projects will bury the low-voltage lines in the Beale West and Beale East housing areas, further modernizing a system that is showing its age. Future phases include moving the electrical lines near roadways instead of through open fields to avoid environmental impact; adding a second electrical substation; and continuing to modernize the infrastructure. The entire electrical system repair will cost an estimated $50 million, and budget uncertainties can slow the project timetable. Nordahl said upgrading the electrical infrastructure is important for Beale's mission success. "The base relies on this system to provide stable, steady power," he said. "Without power, the warfighter downrange doesn't get intel."