Misawa CE: conserving energy is savings in the ‘BENC’

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kelly White
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Conscientious energy consumption is a practice the Department of Defense expects military members and their families to do habitually, but since Japan's natural disaster March 11, Misawa's civil engineers have ignited base-wide initiatives to cutback use of its limited resources - fuel, water and electricity.

"So far, these conservation efforts have resulted in a 33-percent reduction in the use of electricity base-wide," said 1st Lt. Reid Touchberry, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron Engineer. "This is an extraordinary base-wide accomplishment and we have to keep it up."

Immediately following the earthquake, Misawa Air Base lost all commercially provided power. The base was completely relying on emergency back-up and temporary generators for two days, said Lieutenant Touchberry.

"Now, Tohoku Power Company has had to ration electrical power, including putting a cap on the amount of power the base is permitted to use. If we go over that amount, we'll either be taking power away from hundreds of civilians downtown or the power company will reassess how it distributes power to the base, potentially allowing us to use even less."

"We're dangerously close to our limit now," he added. "With school re-starting Monday, base energy consumption will increase significantly, so we need everyone to conserve energy as much as possible, to the extent of 'if you don't need it, unplug it.'"

To help maximize the base's efforts to minimize consumption, a Base Energy Nerve Cell was created and will be in place until Misawa is able to restore all power and return to normal operations.

The BENC, headed by Lieutenant Touchberry and Mitsuhiro Kashiwazaki, 35th CES Programs Flight electrical engineer, is a focal point of base power planning and operations.

"It continually monitors electricity consumption, prioritizes power needs and evaluates various options to restore the base to a fully operable state," said 2nd Lt. Carly Reimer, 35th CES programmer.

"It's also a joint and coalition unit, with the Air Force, Navy, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and tenant units working closely together, as each element requires power to operate," she added. "CES's coordination with the Tohoku Power Company is key to the BENC's efforts, as well. Tohoku provides power to all of northern Japan, which is subject to rolling blackouts if the need arises. Active communication regarding base energy usage exempts us from having power turned off."

While uniformed members and Japanese national civilians have worked side-by-side earnestly to watch, budget and gauge energy consumption since the quake, this is not the full extent of effort CES is putting forth during this critical time.

Personnel from several base units including medical, maintenance and the Misawa Security Operations Center, have taken on a specific role to help the BENC communicate the personal ownership aspect of energy conservation, Lieutenant Reimer said.

"This team, dubbed 'Rolling Blackout,' is headed by Maj. Brett Seshul, (35th Dental Squadron), and Capt. Chad Willis, (35th Aerospace Medicine Squadron)," she added. "Its role is to spread word of the severity of the base's situation and the need to cut back in every viable way. They're out there to keep people from becoming complacent and to make sure they know it's not yet time to return to our 'normal' way of life."

Something else base members might see "Rolling Blackout" doing around base is unplugging things like vending machines, coffee pots and fax machines, in an effort to take advantage of every energy-saving opportunity it can find.