A string of attacks on electrical infrastructure has occurred at substations and other power facilities since mid-October in the Southeast and the Pacific Northwest. Last Sunday authorities in Moore County, North Carolina declared a state of emergency following an attack that damaged electrical infrastructure and left more than 40,000 customers without power.
Moore County is located in central North Carolina, near Fort Bragg, the nation’s most populous Army post. Because of this proximity, a large number of soldiers and civilian personnel serving at the installation live within Moore County.
The incidents in North Carolina followed attacks at six substations in Oregon and Washington during the October / November time frame. According to a DHS security memo, the physical attacks on these substations was carried out using hand tools, arson, and metal chains (thrown into the substation components). Firearms were believed to have been used in two of those attacks.
The Grid: 8000 Power Plants, 55,000 Substations
The US government identifies the Energy Sector as unique because it provides an “enabling function” across all 16 critical infrastructure sectors.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the electric power sector in the U.S. is made up of more than 8,000 power plants with various owners and operators, including traditional utilities and private (non-utility) power producers.
Downstream from these 8,000 power plants are more than 55,000 substations where critical incidents are common, to include regular acts of vandalism and theft of materials like copper. Damage due to firearms, while not unheard of, is much less common.
From a reporting standpoint such as that of AlertsUSA, this creates an interesting signal-to-noise problem. Among 8,000 power plants and 55,000 substations, outages are common and from a variety of causes. While the loss of power is instantaneous, determining that the outage is the result of vandalism, theft, gunfire, some natural hazard, or equipment failure can take time.
Readers are reminded that in January of this year, the Department of Homeland Security issued a security bulletin to law enforcement agencies nationwide warning that domestic violent extremists have been developing plans to attack the U.S. electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors.
Similarly, less than two weeks ago, DHS issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin which also warns U.S. critical infrastructure remains a potential target for attack.
To better understand the complexity of the U.S. electrical grid, see this resource from the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team.
Caution and vigilance are urged not only for sector stakeholders, but also those who reside near power generation and transmission facilities.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant. |
