Is a 90-day blackout coming? What the Pentagon's plan for bases means for your home

Update, October 30, afternoon: who pays, and what it says about your power

The Pentagon plans to use "public-private partnerships" to help pay for FORTRESS, Dale Marks, the assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, told Breaking Defense at a conference in Tampa this week. "The model that we're trying to drive on is not me having to go back up on Capitol Hill with my hand out," he said. He didn't say which projects could be paid for that way. Breaking Defense also reports that he is not focused on a completion date for every existing base, but on priorities and ways to bring costs down.

On stage, Marks described the energy goal as powering bases for "30, 60, or even 90 days without a single watt of outside power." He also said: "We're mandating a 90-day sovereign stockpile of critical parts, fuels, propellants, ammunitions on site." That is the first time we have found a Pentagon official using a 90-day figure on the record. He used it for a stockpile on bases; for power, he gave a range. Microreactors won't go on every base, he said: other sources could include natural gas and geothermal.

The Pentagon's own news story on his Tampa speech, published October 29, says: "While Fortress America installations will use a public-private economic model, they will be designed to rely on their own infrastructure for 30 days, completely detached from external utilities in case the surrounding civilian grid collapses." That is a worst case the bases are planning for, the way a hospital plans for losing power. It is not a forecast, and the story gives no warning or advice for the public.

What none of it says: neither Marks nor the Pentagon's story mentions power, fuel or supplies for homes, utility bills, or what FORTRESS will cost. The September 30 memo that created the program doesn't mention partnerships or outside funding either. For households, nothing changes: keep supplies for several days, and a 2-week water supply if you can, as set out below.

Update, October 30: what has changed

The program is moving. Hegseth's September 30 memo creating FORTRESS America told the Pentagon's acquisition chief to stand up a FORTRESS America Program Office within 30 days. Under Secretary Michael Duffey issued a directive, dated Tuesday, October 6, that starts setting it up and names an interim director. DefenseScoop reported it on October 7. Neither the September 30 memo nor the parts of the October 6 directive DefenseScoop quoted mention 90 days.

At an October 20 roundtable, a senior defense official told reporters that details are still being worked out as officials consider the needs of around 500 bases in the continental US. "The assessment timeline that we're in right now is trying to determine what is this going to cost," the official said. Air & Space Forces Magazine, which reported the roundtable, wrote that it could take decades to fully achieve the goal. We found no cost or timeline from the Pentagon.

Did the Pentagon confirm the 90 days? Reports disagree. The Epoch Times says Parnell "confirmed" Fox's report on October 25. The confirmation it describes is an X post sharing the Fox article, which it quotes as: "FORTRESS is strategic deterrence in action, ensuring our defenses are hardened, proactive, and ready." Snopes looked at the same post and said it "does not explicitly confirm the 90-day operating requirement." Both are describing one post, and the words quoted from it don't mention 90 days.

Our reading: the Pentagon's spokesman endorsed the Fox story, and he is quoted in it at length, but we found no on-record statement from him or the Pentagon that confirms the 90-day figure itself. Snopes said on October 26 that it had asked the Pentagon and was awaiting a reply. None of this changes anything for households.

What is being shared

On October 25, a post on X said the Pentagon is preparing every major US military base to operate for at least 90 days without outside electricity, fuel, water or supplies, "anticipating a major war that could cripple power grids, break global supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on US soil." It credits Fox News and adds that the plans include portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids.

Shared on its own, that reads like a warning that the grid is about to fail. The report it comes from is narrower than that, and it is about the military, not your home.

What Fox News actually reported

Fox News Digital published the story on October 25, based on documents it says it reviewed. They describe a Pentagon initiative called FORTRESS. Under a new requirement, every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations independently for at least 90 days. The 90 days includes electricity, water, fuel and communications.

To get there, the documents envision portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids that can disconnect a base from the civilian grid. They also call for strategic reserves, including fuel, munitions, spare parts and medical supplies.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital: "We don't want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense." He also said, "Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures."

What is confirmed, and what is not

Confirmed: FORTRESS itself is public. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced it in his September 30 "State of the Force" address, and the Army's write-up says the program "calls for every American military installation to eventually run under its own power." Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell also explained the thinking to Fox on the record.

Parts of the plan are already underway. On August 26, the Army announced awards of up to a combined $2.2 billion for companies to own, build and operate nuclear microreactors at five bases: Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, Fort Benning and Fort Drum. The Army is aiming for its first reactor to operate on a base by September 2028, and expects more than 20 in total.

The idea is not new either. In 2017 the Army said its installations should be able to provide necessary energy and water for a minimum of 14 days, a figure it chose after studying past outages and water shortages. Ninety days would be a much longer target.

Not confirmed: the documents Fox reviewed have not been made public, and the 90-day figure is not in the public announcements. Fox's report does not say who signed the documents, when, or by what date bases must comply. Hegseth did not say how long the goal would take, and Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that it could take decades to fully achieve. The post's wording, that the Pentagon is "anticipating a major war," is also stronger than Fox's own, which says the Pentagon is preparing "for the possibility of a major war."

Why bases, and why now

Fox's report says a central concern is the military's reliance on civilian power grids, the reliance Parnell described. The Army said in August that it wants energy resilience "without relying on potentially vulnerable external grids." That is planning for a base's mission in a worst case, the way a hospital keeps backup generators. It is not a forecast that the grid will go down, and no agency has told households to prepare for one.

For most households, outages are far shorter. EIA says US electricity customers averaged 11 hours of interruptions in all of 2024, a high year driven by hurricanes. Interruptions from major events averaged nearly nine hours that year, and outages not caused by major events routinely average about two hours a year. The worst-hit state, South Carolina, averaged nearly 53 hours.

What it means for your home

Nothing in this report changes official advice for households. Ready.gov says that after an emergency you may need to survive on your own for several days, with your own food, water and other supplies. CDC says to store at least 1 gallon of water per person, per day for 3 days, and to try to store a 2-week supply if possible. The Red Cross suggests a 2-week supply of water and food at home.

That is a sensible target, and it covers the outages people actually face. Start with our power outage checklist and how much water to store. If you want to keep a deeper pantry anyway, our food storage calculator sizes one by household and months, and the long-term food storage guide explains how to rotate it.

• Water: 1 gallon per person, per day, for at least 3 days; 2 weeks if you can
• Food you already eat, for several days, that needs no fridge
• A flashlight for every person, plus spare batteries
• A battery-powered or hand-crank radio
• A plan for anyone who relies on powered medical devices or cold medicines

What not to do

Don't panic-buy months of supplies because of a headline about military bases. Food you never eat goes to waste, and Ready.gov's advice is to choose foods your family will eat.

If you do buy a generator, use it safely. CDC says never to use a generator, pressure washer or any gasoline-powered engine inside your home, basement or garage, or less than 20 feet from any window, door or vent. Ready.gov adds: never use a gas stovetop or oven to heat your home, and install carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup on every level.