Fort Carson to conduct ‘Black Start Exercise,’ shutting off power across the Mountain Post

FORT CARSON, Colo. (KRDO) -- As part of a "Black Start Exercise," Fort Carson will be turning off its power installation-wide on April 26.

The Mount Post said the purpose of the exercise is to assess backup power generation capabilities following a congressional mandate requiring Department of Defense services to test their ability to operate without power in an emergency.

The exercise is expected to last around eight hours for identified essential service locations but many facilities can expect services to slowly start returning within 30 minutes to an hour after the initial blackout, Fort Carson said in a release.

“It’s really to test our resiliency in 93 critical facilities that should have backup generators,” said Col. Sean Brown, Fort Carson garrison commander. “Not only will this help test our generators but also the contingency plans we have in case of a power outage.”

“We will gradually return power to more facilities throughout the day, and about 85% of the facilities will have power back after the first two-and-half hours of the exercise,” Brown added.

Fort Carson said the exercise will be challenging for those who work and live on post, but preparing in advance can reduce stress for everyone involved. Tips to prepare for the exercise can be found on Facebook at U.S. Army Fort Carson, and on the Fort Carson website at home.army.mil/carson.