Base power, electricity source shuts down for maintenance

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nora Anton
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  For the first time in over 23 years, Eielson's Central Heat and Power Plant will be completely shut down June 6 and will restart June 27.

The base will be importing power from the local utility of the Golden Valley Electric Association during the scheduled time.

The facility is undergoing major maintenance to enhance reliability, said Marty Overlin, 354th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent of the facility.

"The primary focus will be the replacement of steam valves on the main steam header and raw water lines," said Mr. Overlin. "In addition, preventative maintenance will be performed on various systems throughout the plant."

The power plant first started producing steam in 1952, but the plant retains its original six boilers as well as the majority of the original equipment--even after 56 years of upgrades and renovations.

"It is an effort to ensure the plant stays operational during the most critical time at Eielson, the winter," said 2nd Lt. Daniel Forrester, 354th CES executive officer.

Through the maintenance, the civil engineers are optimistic that residents will experience little to no negative side-effects.

"These maintenance procedures should be transparent to the base populace," said Lieutenant Forrester. "However, it is possible that the base experiences power outages lasting around 20 minutes."

Mr. Overlin explains the start-to-finish process of the power plant.

"The fuel for our operation is sub bituminous coal that is mined in Healy Alaska and is transported to Eielson via the Alaskan Railroad," he said.

Once on base the plant's railroad takes care of the movement and unloading of coal. The coal is fed into the plant in which it is burned in the boilers to produce steam.

The steam is used to turn large turbine generators that provide the Eielson community its electricity, the remaining steam is diverted out to the base to provide the heating requirements.

After the steam has completed the task of heating the base, it then condenses back to water and is returned to the plant. The water is then recycled back through the plant.

The annual electricity, 84,700 million watt hours, the plant produces is valued at $11 million and the annual steam produced is valued at $21 million.