Fort Bliss to Implement Mission Critical Resiliency Upgrades

FORT BLISS, Texas, Sept. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Substantial energy and water resiliency improvements will soon be underway at Fort Bliss as part of a $58.3 million Utility Energy Services Contract (UESC) project awarded by the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville in June 2022. The project, a comprehensive resilient power solution expected to decrease energy and water consumption, and provide improved capability to control energy supply and distribution, was awarded to New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Inc., and Energy Systems Group, LLC (ESG), a leading sustainable energy solutions provider and wholly owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP).

“Fort Bliss and the Army are leading the way to find partnerships that provide innovative solutions to energy and water resilience, reduction of consumption, and cost savings.” said the Fort Bliss Garrison Commander, COL Jim Brady.

Estimated to save approximately $136.5 million over the performance period, the project scope consists of a micro-grid serving 142 buildings onsite with 102 of those buildings deemed critical to the Fort Bliss mission. The project also includes 15MW Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) with 8MW of battery storage, major LED lighting upgrades, and water resiliency to East Fort Bliss that includes refurbishment of an existing water well and transmission lines connecting the well water supply to East Fort Bliss.

The onsite capabilities being installed as part of this UESC are expected to enhance Fort Bliss’ resiliency efforts, as well as support to the electric utility’s broader service area by supplying more available capacity to serve utility customers during critical peak load events. As a result, Fort Bliss is expected to be able to leverage the cost savings to implement the micro-grid to provide sustained energy for critical operations and fallback positions for America’s warfighters during grid outages.