Investigation Into Attacks on Power Stations Across the U.S. Continues; Federal Memo Warned of Attacks on Power Plants; After Substation Shooting, Federal Regulator Orders Review of Security Standards

Investigation Into Attacks on Power Stations Across the U.S. Continues:

The attack one week ago on two substations in Moore County, N.C., resulted in the loss of power to 45,000 people and raised questions about the security of America’s power grid.

And when further attacks in North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, and Oregon were revealed, those questions have now become urgent. Are the attacks — all involving gunfire targeting substations — unrelated pranks, or are they connected to a plot of some kind?

As outlandish as the idea of some kind of coordinated attack on our electrical grid being underway sounds, federal authorities are not dismissing anything or any theory at this point. They can’t afford to. The electric infrastructure our country depends on is critical — especially moving into the winter months when so many homes use electric heat.

Manny Cancel, CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, is worried not just about the attacks but about the “threat level.”

“It’s the most complex threat landscape I’ve seen in my experience, and I’ve been in this industry for a long time,” Cancel said this week. —>READ MORE HERE

Federal memo warned of attacks on power plants:

Days after what officials called a targeted attack on power substations in North Carolina, NewsNation has exclusively obtained a recent federal law enforcement memo that previously warned of similar possible attacks.

The memo reads, in part:

Power companies in Oregon and Washington have reported physical attacks on substations using hand tools, arson, firearms and metal chains possibly in response to an online call for attacks on critical infrastructure. … In recent attacks, criminal actors bypassed security by cutting the fence links, lighting nearby fires, shooting equipment from a distance or throwing objects over the fence and onto equipment. Federal Law Enforcement officials

Officials told NewsNation Tuesday it is too early to know a motive for the gunfire damage that caused widespread power outages in Moore County, North Carolina, but there have been similar cases of vandalism and plots across the country in recent months.

On Nov. 11, for example, sheriff’s deputies in Jones County, North Carolina, reported that criminal vandalism had caused 12,000 people to lose power for days.

That investigation remains ongoing and authorities say no suspects have been identified or arrested. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow link below to a relevant story:

+++++After substation shooting, federal regulator orders review of security standards+++++

Source