Training exercise simulates mass power outage

What would it be like if there was a long-term mass power failure in Wisconsin? Authorities hope it never happens, but they’re training for one just in case.

About 1,000 Wisconsin National Guard, law enforcement, emergency management and fire department officials are participating in a training exercise called Dark Sky on Tuesday through Thursday in Milwaukee, Brown, Calumet, Dane, Fond du Lac, Outagamie and Winnebago counties.

There will be no power outage but some residents might see an increased emergency responder presence, including vehicles and equipment as well as non-military drones. The citizens of the Winnebago County community of Omro, west of Oshkosh, will get visits from authorities practicing health and welfare checks.

“It simulates a long-term mass power outage as a result of both physical and cyber threats to the state’s critical infrastructure,” said Capt. Joe Trovato, a Wisconsin National Guard spokesman.

There won’t be much of an impact on residents and most of the training will be done at sites not open to the public, including an Alliant Energy facility in Fond du Lac County, which will be one of the National Guard training sites. In Milwaukee County, most of the training will be digital and folks here won’t notice anything, Trovato said.

About 110 Guardsmen will work with fire, police and emergency management officials to go door-to-door in Omro on Wednesday afternoon to speak with residents and pass out emergency preparedness information. Those who are not home during the training exercise will find preparedness information left on their doors.

Dark Sky is the final part of a series of similar training exercises that included a scenario in November of an attack on the power grid in Dane and Columbia counties, and in February a winter ice emergency exercise simulating power disconnections for 50,000 people.

The training is also designed to improve communication among emergency management agencies, law enforcement, first responders and the Wisconsin National Guard.

“Building those partnerships will hopefully make us better prepared in the event of a real emergency in Wisconsin,” Trovato said.