Attack on power grid in North Carolina

[oxmixmudd]

That sounds like a couple of drunks and a spur of the moment thing. Definitely not a planned operation.

Possible, but given the comments of the lady kicked out of the army for supporting the sort of right wing nutters that might just do such a thing on purpose, im guessing it was more likely than not planned. Keep in mind there is more than on kind of nutter out there advocating this sort of thing

[Thoughtful Monk]

Frankly, I think this is one of the more important underreported stories occurring right now. From what I've seen, this looked planned.

[rogue06]

Frankly, I think this is one of the more important underreported stories occurring right now. From what I've seen, this looked planned.

Planned would be setting off something to do the damage when you're back home rather than standing around shooting rifles and letting everyone know about it (greatly increasing the odds of being seen or even caught). Then again perhaps they're total idiots.

[Thoughtful Monk]

Planned would be setting off something to do the damage when you're back home rather than standing around shooting rifles and letting everyone know about it (greatly increasing the odds of being seen or even caught). Then again perhaps they're total idiots.

It's a lot harder to build a time-delayed bomb than shooting off guns. Also, this happened at two substations which sort of discounts a drunk incident to my mind. I don't know how far apart the two stations are so I can change my mind on that if they were adjacent. Considering there have been zero arrests for this, apparently whoever did this isn't talking.

I hope this really is a drunken rage issue, but I think there's something more than that to this.

[KingsGambit]

I'm not sure the point of insisting it was likely not planned. It doesn't change the fact that an entire county spent five days without power and at least one person died, and comes across as trying to undermine the gravity of it.

[oxmixmudd]

Planned would be setting off something to do the damage when you're back home rather than standing around shooting rifles and letting everyone know about it (greatly increasing the odds of being seen or even caught). Then again perhaps they're total idiots.

Or perhaps they didn't want to risk blowing themselves up with a homemade bomb. People rob banks in broad daylight. I would guess shooting up an unmanned substation in the woods with an AR15 or similar will not take much time or carry much risk of capture, especially if you plan your ingress and egress so as to prevent capture or potential id with a video camera. Given they have no suspects, they must have made sure they left no trace of who they were. That generally takes planning.

[oxmixmudd]

I'm not sure the point of insisting it was likely not planned. It doesn't change the fact that an entire county spent five days without power and at least one person died, and comes across as trying to undermine the gravity of it.

My guess is it's in everyone's best interests if this was just some jerks looking for target practice rather than a test by some subversive homeland terrorist group of how effective such operations can be ...

[rogue06]

It's a lot harder to build a time-delayed bomb than shooting off guns.

True, but the former is still incredibly easy. And with so many different ways smiley rub hands.gif

Also, this happened at two substations which sort of discounts a drunk incident to my mind. I don't know how far apart the two stations are so I can change my mind on that if they were adjacent. Considering there have been zero arrests for this, apparently whoever did this isn't talking.

I hope this really is a drunken rage issue, but I think there's something more than that to this.

I really haven't kept up on the details, but this doesn't sound like it was planned by anyone more than simply "let's go up and shoot some substations" (that's if more than one person was involved). Unfortunately, that's pretty much all it takes in some situations.

And I didn't expect them to talk about it publicly (although more than one idiot has boasted about the crimes they committed on social media), it was more of the manner it was done greatly increased the odds of being seen (and reported) or even apprehended in the act.

[rogue06]

I'm not sure the point of insisting it was likely not planned. It doesn't change the fact that an entire county spent five days without power and at least one person died, and comes across as trying to undermine the gravity of it.

More of what sort of folks to suspect

[rogue06]

Or perhaps they didn't want to risk blowing themselves up with a homemade bomb. People rob banks in broad daylight.

As opposed to at night when they're closed?

I would guess shooting up an unmanned substation in the woods with an AR15 or similar will not take much time or carry much risk of capture, especially if you plan your ingress and egress so as to prevent capture or potential id with a video camera.

Make a bunch of noise -- gunfire -- and then leave. When it isn't necessary.

Sheer genius.

Given they have no suspects, they must have made sure they left no trace of who they were. That generally takes planning.

Given the type of operation, detection and apprehension are basically minimal except through bad luck or stupidity. They deliberately dramatically improved the odds of detection which could lead to arrest.

[Gondwanaland]

Apparently there have been some similar attacks in the Pacific Northwest in the last couple weeks

A string of attacks on power facilities in Oregon and Washington has caused alarm and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the US electric grid.

The attacks in the Pacific north-west come just days after a similar assault on North Carolina power stations that cut electricity to 40,000 people.

As first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW Public Radio, there have been at least six attacks, some of which involved firearms and caused residents to lose power. Two of the attacks shared similarities with the incident in Moore county, North Carolina, where two stations were hit by gunfire. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the North Carolina attack.

The four Pacific north-west utilities whose equipment was attacked have said they are cooperating with the FBI. The agency has not yet confirmed if it is investigating the incidents.

It’s unknown who is behind the attacks but experts have long warned of discussion among extremists of disrupting the nation’s power grid.

Any attack on electric infrastructure “potentially puts the safety of the public and our workers at risk”, said BPA, which delivers hydropower across the Pacific north-west .

Portland General Electric, a public utility that provides electricity to nearly half of the state’s population, said it had begun repairs after suffering “a deliberate physical attack on one of our substations” that also occurred in the Clackamas area in late November 2022. It said it was “actively cooperating” with the FBI.

Puget Sound Energy, an energy utility in Washington, reported two cases of vandalism at two substations in late November to the FBI and peer utilities, but said the incidents appeared to be unrelated to other recent attacks.

“There is no indication that these vandalism attempts indicate a greater risk to our operations and we have extensive measures to monitor, protect and minimize the risk to our equipment and infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.

Experts and intelligence analysts have long warned of both the vulnerability of the US power grid and talk among extremists about attacking the crucial infrastructure.

“It’s very vulnerable,” said Keith Taylor, a professor at the University of California, Davis, who has worked with energy utilities. “[These attacks] are a real threat.”

The physical risks to the power grid have been known for decades, Granger Morgan, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told CBS. “We’ve made a bit of progress, but the system is still quite vulnerable,” he said.

A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report released in January warned that domestic extremists have been developing “credible, specific plans” to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020.

The DHS has cited a document shared on a Telegram channel used by extremists that included a white supremacist guide to attacking an electric grid with firearms, CNN reported.

“These fringe groups have been talking about this for a long time,” Taylor said. “I’m not at all surprised this happened – I’m surprised it’s taken this long.”

Three men who law enforcement identified as members of the Boogaloo movement allegedly planned to attack a substation in Nevada in 2020 to distract police and attempt to incite a riot.

In 2013, still unknown assailants cut fiber-optic phone lines and used a sniper to fire shots at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation near San Jose in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack that caused millions of dollars in damage. The attack prompted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) to order grid operators to increase security.

“They knew what they were doing. They had a specific objective. They wanted to knock out the substation,” Jon Wellinghoff, the then chair of Ferc, told 60 Minutes, adding that the attack could have “brought down all of Silicon Valley”.

After the 2013 attack in California, a Ferc analysis found that attackers could cause a blackout coast-to-coast if they took out only nine of the 55,000 substations in the US.

The US electrical grid is vast and sprawling with 450,000 miles of transmission lines, 55,000 substations and 6,400 power plants. Power plants and substations are dispersed in every corner of the country, connected by transmission lines that transport electricity through farmland, forests and swamps. Attackers do not necessarily have to get close to cause significant damage.

“In a centralized system, if I [want] to take out one coal-fired plant, I don’t even have to take out the plant, I just have to take out the transmission line,” said Taylor. “You can cause a ripple effect where one outage can cause an entire seaboard to go down.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...thwest-attacks

[Gondwanaland]

Looks like more attacks in Washington, this time at three different substations, knocking out power to 15k+ people Christmas Day

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/2-power-su...203500942.html

Three power substation facilities were vandalized in Pierce County, Washington, on Christmas morning, knocking out power to more than 14,000 customers, authorities said.

Two of the break-ins were at Tacoma Public Utilities substations and the third was at a Puget Sound Energy station, according to the sheriff's office in Pierce County, which encompasses Tacoma.

No suspects are in custody, according to the sheriff's office.

"It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

MORE: Attacks, plots similar to sabotage of North Carolina power grid have threatened infrastructure nationwide

Tacoma Public Utilities said about 2,000 of its customers are still without power and crews are working on restoration.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin last month warning that U.S. critical infrastructure could be among the targets of possible attacks by "lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances."

Earlier this month, two electrical substations were shot up in North Carolina, causing tens of thousands of customers to lose power and prompting local officials to declare a state of emergency.

[Diogenes]

Looks like more attacks in Washington, this time at three different substations, knocking out power to 15k+ people Christmas Day

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/2-power-su...203500942.html

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they were orchestrated by an alphabet soup agency. Small targets are suspicious.

[Thoughtful Monk]

I've been wondering about this attack. Apparently, no arrests as I would think that would make the national news.

I think we are in some form of asymmetrical warfare with someone(s). Not sure if it's foreign, domestic, or some combination.

[myth]

Days later, they still don't know who they did it.

A local Christian activist did make a Facebook post shortly after suggesting she knew why, but she was visited by investigators and apparently personally cleared. She does apparently approve of what was done, though, and I wonder if she does know who, even if it wasn't her.

She's also a bit of a raving lunatic, so there's that.