
SAN DIEGO — Col. Thomas Bedell had been commanding Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar in San Diego for just one day, in July 2021, when he got a message from the base energy management director. The city power system was straining under a heatwave, and it was time to start up the microgrid.
"So I said, yes! Start up the microgrid! And then I texted, what is the microgrid?" Bedell recalled with a laugh.