Posted on Dec 13, 2022
North Carolina attacks highlight the vulnerability of power grids
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/ [login to see] /north-carolina-attacks-highlight-the-vulnerability-of-power-grids
When Moore County, N.C., suddenly went dark last Saturday night, Mayor Carol Haney was perplexed. There'd been no storm, no warning, just darkness on what had been a festive holiday season evening. It turned out a shooting attack on two electrical substations knocked tens of thousands of people off the grid for the better part of a week.
"This beautiful part of the world gets sabotaged," said Haney. "So, it could happen to anyone. And that's probably the most frightening for everyone– that this could happen to anyone."
It could. Across the United States some 55,000 electrical substations are humming right now, mostly transforming high voltage from big power lines, into lower voltages for homes and businesses. Many of them are sitting ducks for saboteurs.
"The electric grid is the Achilles heel of the United States," says Mike Mabee, a self-described "grid-security gadfly" who pours over electric company data to highlight vulnerabilities.
Like many he's worried about Russian or Chinese cyberattacks, but Mabee says the easiest way to hurt Americans is something a lot less exotic, shooting up substations with widely available assault rifles.
When Moore County, N.C., suddenly went dark last Saturday night, Mayor Carol Haney was perplexed. There'd been no storm, no warning, just darkness on what had been a festive holiday season evening. It turned out a shooting attack on two electrical substations knocked tens of thousands of people off the grid for the better part of a week.
"This beautiful part of the world gets sabotaged," said Haney. "So, it could happen to anyone. And that's probably the most frightening for everyone– that this could happen to anyone."
It could. Across the United States some 55,000 electrical substations are humming right now, mostly transforming high voltage from big power lines, into lower voltages for homes and businesses. Many of them are sitting ducks for saboteurs.
"The electric grid is the Achilles heel of the United States," says Mike Mabee, a self-described "grid-security gadfly" who pours over electric company data to highlight vulnerabilities.
Like many he's worried about Russian or Chinese cyberattacks, but Mabee says the easiest way to hurt Americans is something a lot less exotic, shooting up substations with widely available assault rifles.
North Carolina attacks highlight the vulnerability of power grids
Posted from npr.org
Energy
Firearms and Guns
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Those individual vulnerabilities add up to one massive problem. Wellinghoff says a series of precisely targeted substation attacks could trigger a cascade of failures, taking down most of the US power grid.
Power companies say they’re on top of the situation. A spokesman for Duke Energy, the company which owns the substations attacked in North Carolina, says the company works constantly to improve security, and to meet new threats. He says the whole industry will learn from the North Carolina attacks.
The FBI is investigating alongside state and local authorities. They’ve collected dozens of spent shell casings at the site. State police are reportedly seeking search warrants, while the FBI is asking for cell phone records.
The attacks keep coming. Wednesday shooters targeted another Duke substation, this one in South Carolina, without triggering a blackout.
Meantime some of the people who know the most about the U-S power grid are taking concrete steps to be able to do without it. Both Jon Wellinghoff, and Mike Mabee have had solar panels, batteries, and generators installed in their homes."
..."Those individual vulnerabilities add up to one massive problem. Wellinghoff says a series of precisely targeted substation attacks could trigger a cascade of failures, taking down most of the US power grid.
Power companies say they’re on top of the situation. A spokesman for Duke Energy, the company which owns the substations attacked in North Carolina, says the company works constantly to improve security, and to meet new threats. He says the whole industry will learn from the North Carolina attacks.
The FBI is investigating alongside state and local authorities. They’ve collected dozens of spent shell casings at the site. State police are reportedly seeking search warrants, while the FBI is asking for cell phone records.
The attacks keep coming. Wednesday shooters targeted another Duke substation, this one in South Carolina, without triggering a blackout.
Meantime some of the people who know the most about the U-S power grid are taking concrete steps to be able to do without it. Both Jon Wellinghoff, and Mike Mabee have had solar panels, batteries, and generators installed in their homes."
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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