The Defense Department must first spend another $37 million to expand the center's overloaded power grid, after a substation at the National Institutes of Health reached capacity.

That means it won't be able to power the improvements — totalling about $781 million — needed to meet BRAC requirements for revamping the site's medical services and accommodating the hundreds of new patients and workers.

Congress is waiting for a definitive answer from the Defense Department on whether the electricity issues at the substation could lead to brownouts or blackouts at the hospital.

Meanwhile, officials said building a better grid could take as long as two to three years, The Examiner reports.

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