Utilities privatization marks 15 years of success

  • Published
  • By Jennifer McCabe
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When you flip the switch, lights come on, and when you turn the handle on the faucet, water comes out. Your base's utility system works, but what kind of condition is it in and is it in danger of failing?

Building sustainable Air Force installations requires an investment in dependable energy-efficient utility systems. For the past 15 years, the Air Force has upgraded utility systems by privatizing them. The Air Force has privatized 62 systems creating a cost avoidance of $329 million, said engineers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. Eighty-seven systems, including electric, gas, water and wastewater, are in various stages of the privatization process.

"Utilities privatization allows military installations to obtain safe utility systems that meet and maintain current industry standards," said Rick Weston, who leads AFCEC's UP program management office.

In the privatization process, military installations shift from the role of owner-operators to that of smart utility service customers.

"Historically, bases have been underfunded," said Weston. "Over the past 20 or 30 years, maintaining Air Force utility systems was not a high priority. Consequently, our systems have degraded substantially."

Weston said Congress and the Secretary of Defense prefer to privatize systems in an effort to get out of the utilities business.

"Maintaining utility systems is no longer a core competency of the Air Force," said Weston. "Private industry does it day in and day out, so they can normally do it cheaper than we can.

There are success stories across the country.

"Before privatization, we had to Band-Aid the 50-year-old water system at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., nearly once a month," said Air Mobility Command Infrastructure Program Manager Pam Wood.

Nearly 40,000 base personnel and visitors depend on the six-mile water line that runs from the city of Belleville to the installation.

"We could never get the funding to get that repaired and replaced," said Wood. "Since we've privatized, that line and $16 million worth of water lines on base have all been replaced. They did a hydraulic modeling of the system and reduced pipes in some places and increased them in others. The system is much more efficient now."

The new system owner took over in 2008 and improvements were completed in 2012.

"We eliminated several potential security, health and operational risks that were associated with the water system. We improved the water pressure, which is good for firefighting and industrial use, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems now have reliable water," said Scott AFB Operations Flight Deputy James Route.

UP leaders said bases don't lose manpower positions and Airmen still receive training.

"We put the career field education training program, or CFETP, document in our contract, which makes the contractor the trainer," said Master Sgt. Joe Evett, UP contract representative for Travis AFB, Calif. "They schedule training on a monthly basis and if the military electrical shop decides they want some other type of training, they can request it at any time."

There are 37 systems at 22 bases set to be awarded in fiscal 2014. An additional 143 systems need to be reviewed.

"There are instances in remote locations, or on bases that don't have much utility infrastructure around the base, where it's not economically advantageous for a utility company to come in and do this," said Weston. "We're not going to pay extra. We only privatize if it's economically feasible for the Air Force."

Properly maintained system increases energy security and mission effectiveness, Weston said, citing Tyndall AFB, Fla., as an example. The base has averaged a 90-percent reduction in building power outages since privatization improvements, he said.