NAVY HOUSING FACES POWER OUTAGES
PHOTO CAPTION: Technicians inspect electrical infrastructure during a power-outage exercise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The image is illustrative. Navy families near Naval Station Norfolk have reported repeated outages lasting as long as 15 hours. U.S. Air Force photo
Military families living near Naval Station Norfolk say repeated power outages have left them without electricity and air conditioning for hours at a time, with some residents reporting outages lasting as long as 12 to 15 hours.
The problems have affected residents at Willoughby Bay and Breezy Point military housing in Norfolk, Virginia, according to local reporting and statements from Liberty Military Housing.
One sailor living at Willoughby Bay said the outages began shortly after he moved into the community in early 2025 and have continued repeatedly since then.
Khareem Mckenley told WVEC 13News Now that he and his wife have lost hundreds of dollars worth of groceries because refrigerators and freezers stopped working during outages.
Another Willoughby Bay resident, Brittany Green, described outages lasting three hours, 12 hours and even 15 hours.
“Most recently, this week I can’t tell you what day the power has actually been on,” Green told the station.
Liberty Military Housing, the private company that operates more than 1,600 military family homes across 10 communities around Naval Station Norfolk, says the electrical problems originate with infrastructure maintained by the Navy.
Liberty Regional Vice President Paris Cousin said the outages are not caused by the housing company's operations and that the Navy is responsible for maintaining the affected electrical systems and restoring service.
The company said its employees have continued communicating updates to residents and providing assistance when possible.
Naval Station Norfolk has said recent outages were traced to specific faults and failures within the installation's electrical distribution infrastructure.
Repairs include replacing approximately 1,300 feet of electrical cable, along with additional work intended to address the failures.
Storms have complicated the situation as well. During one recent outage, Naval Station Norfolk said severe weather was affecting Willoughby housing and other areas of the installation while Dominion Energy was also reporting outages elsewhere in Norfolk.
The Navy added Willoughby housing to a voluntary evacuation during that period.
For residents, however, the repeated outages have become a quality-of-life and financial issue.
Losing electricity for hours can mean spoiled groceries, homes without air conditioning during Virginia's summer heat and uncertainty over when normal service will return.
The situation also highlights the sometimes complicated division of responsibility in privatized military housing.
Liberty operates and manages the homes, while portions of the infrastructure supplying those communities remain under Navy control.
The Navy's own housing program lists Liberty Military Housing as its privatized housing partner for Naval Station Norfolk and directs residents to both Liberty and Navy housing officials when maintenance or housing problems cannot be resolved.
Naval Station Norfolk is the world's largest naval installation and serves as home port for aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines and other ships assigned to the Atlantic Fleet.
For the families living alongside that massive installation, however, the immediate concern is much simpler: keeping the power on.
(Source: OAF Nation)
