13 News Now - New Substation Will Handle Growth on Little Creek

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There's more power on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.

The ribbon was cut Wednesday on the new $30 million main power sub-station.

Officials say the boost is needed because base population has more than doubled since September 2001. It is designed to meet growth for years to come.

It replaces one that's 50 years old and should be more reliable, officials noted.

But it comes amid a recent government warning about the military's ability to defend against cyber attacks on its power grids.

The Government Accounting Office in July found that the military's systems which provide power to the nation's military installations may be at-risk for attack; The 72-page report concluded that bases "may be vulnerable to cyber incidents that could degrade operations and negatively impact missions."

"This is a critical capability," said Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-fort Story commanding Officer, Captain Frank Hughlett. " And as a critical capability, it is one we take very seriously in safeguarding and ensuring it's maintaining and being on-line, and not being threatened at all."

Hughlett says he's convinced the grid is secure.

"I can't go into too much," he said. "We do recognize the importance of this facility behind me."

Second District Representative Scott Rigell (R-Va.), who helped win funding for the new sub-station's funding, is, likewise, confident.

"I think that prudence would say that we have to be concerned about these things," he said. "We don't need to be rattled. And we don't need to be fearful. but we do need to make sue that we take the right steps. The right steps have been taken here at Fort-Story-Little Creek. And the new grid we have here is more secure than the one we had before."

Keeping the bases up and running is obviously a national security priority, but there's also an important financial component. In a 2014 Department of Defense Report to Congress, the Pentagon reported 180 utility disruptions lasting 8 hours or longer, with an average fiscal impact of $220,000 per day.

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