319th Civil Engineer Squadron electricians help restore power on base Published May 22, 2013 By Tim Flack and Staff Sgt. Susan Davis 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Air Force personnel mobilized to successfully bring power back to a large swath of the base after an off-base substation transformer became inoperable Monday afternoon. Senior Master Sgt. Victor Correa, superintendent of the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron's Operations Flight, said the power outage affected all of the base housing units. He said the base receives power through two substations that are operated by the Nodak Electric Cooperative. While Nodak personnel worked on the damaged equipment off base, about 20 Air Force electricians were put to work figuring out how to reroute power to an on-base operational substation to power the whole base. Correa compared the effort to an "electric puzzle," saying his personnel had to use a process of "back-feeding" from the housing units to the functioning substation. Additional CE personnel were on hand to keep the lift stations that pump the sewage from housing operational as the power surged on and off, he said. "They did an excellent job" getting the power fully restored in about six hours, Correa said. "They definitely got some troubleshooting practice." "This was an unprecedented power outage," said Tech. Sgt. Donald Hook, one of the electricians who worked to restore the power. One of the biggest concerns, according to base officials, was the fact that there was no electricity to keep sump pumps working in the base housing units. Base personnel were alerted to monitor the lower levels of their homes for any water. Correa said the base will continue to function off the on-base operational substation until Nodak officials get the other operational. fficials said the CES Warriors of the North, through their professional, proficient, and passionate actions, are just another example of what makes the U.S. Air Force the best in the world.