CAMP COVINGTON, Guam--Soldiers from the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) providing their technical experience and assessments to support the 523rd Engineer Company during their deployment to Guam.
The 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) is a versatile power generation battalion assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that provides commercial level power and electrical systems expertise to military units and federal relief organizations during full-spectrum operations.
One of Prime Power's key tasks is to assess Guam's critical infrastructure facilities as determined by Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense. The team is responsible for ensuring that each facility has the proper interim power generation in the event of a natural disaster or emergency.
For the facilities that do possess their own back up generation capabilities, Prime Power determines if the capabilities are sufficient enough to handle the critical load of the facility based on its intended use during the emergency or disaster situations, and also to implement a backup plan if the facility experiences some type of failure in their electrical infrastructure.
For the facilities that do not have back up generation capabilities, the team develops an emergency installation plan utilizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency power generation assets. Assessment information attained includes determining the proper size of generators needed, location and configuration of generators, cabling sizes and length, connection point to the facility, and all pertinent information for the facility.
The assessment data is put into Engineers Link Interactive which enables USACE to initiate and direct larger relief efforts with reduced operational costs and lower response times. ENGLink effectively serves as a centralized point for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of assessment information.
The electrical assessments performed by the Prime Power team will go a long way in helping to ensure that critical facilities will have electrical power available to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from any and all types of emergencies in order to protect the lives, environment, and property of the island of Guam.
Social Sharing