An emergency drill involving a "hypothetical security issue" is scheduled for tomorrow at the Decker Creek Power Station in northeast Austin. Passers-by can expect to see fire trucks, ambulances, cop cars, even a bomb squad vehicle. Do not panic, it is only a test.Austin Energy sent us this news release to let people know what is going on.
A full scale emergency response exercise involving up to 70 people is taking place beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 2 at Austin Energy’s Decker Creek Power Station. The exercise deals with a hypothetical security issue on the property, and local law enforcement agencies and other regional partners will respond as if it were a real incident. Due to logistics inside the plant (which will still be operating), the event is NOT open to the media. During the drill, as many as 10 fire trucks, multiple police vehicles, a bomb squad vehicle, and Austin Energy trucks may been seen coming in and out of the power plant. Participating agencies include Austin Energy, Austin Fire and Police, FBI, Austin-Travis County EMS, and Health and Human Services. We wanted to alert you to the exercise in case you get any calls or see notifications related to the exercise that come through the AWACS paging system.
Construction on the Decker Creek Power Station was completed in 1978. Since then, it's been supplying 926 megawatts of power to Austin Energy. The facility is powered by natural gas and fuel oil. In December, Austin Energy announced plans to remove a 300 kilowatt solar energy installation on 2.5 acres at the Decker Creek Power station and replace it with state-of-the-art panels.
