Two North Carolina substations were shut down by gunfire, leaving 45,000 subscribers without power.
The FBI is investigating and the White House is closely monitoring the situation. This appears to be another case of domestic terrorism.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), since the beginning of the year, there have been nine physical attacks on the US power grid with intent to endanger national security.
The rise of ultra-right terrorism
Federal police investigations into domestic terrorism have tripled in the past five years and have doubled since the January 2020 Capitol riot: According to Newsweek internal FBI data, 90% of investigations relate to “anti-authoritarian” attacks.
The power grid is the ideal target for far-right “accelerating” groups intent on wreaking havoc through infrastructure sabotage, attacks, and assassination in order to destabilize and destroy the American political system.
Last January, a DHS report warned that domestic extremists had been developing “credible and concrete plans” for attacks on electrical infrastructure since at least 2020.
In February, three white supremacists pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack power grids to incite civil unrest.
Our power lines are under attack
We are not immune to these types of attacks on our electrical infrastructure.
We remember the December 2014 airstrike by the “Pilot of the Stars” Normand Dubé on six 735-kilovolt lines that plunged 180,000 homes into darkness.
The man who sought revenge on Hydro-Québec and caused him $30 million in damage was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
And it was probably an eco-conservationist who damaged the high-voltage power line from Hydro-Quebec to New England in 2004.
Another potential threat to Hydro, a 2021 intelligence bulletin released by DHS and the FBI, warned of the threat drones pose to critical energy infrastructure.
A small drone was believed to have carried out an attempted attack on a substation in Pennsylvania.
Drone technology is readily available to terrorists and the deranged. Inexpensive, easy to transport and operate, small drones with improvised explosive charges have been used in assassination attempts.
Physical and IT security
While here, as in the United States, media attention focuses on the security of the power grid from cyberattacks, its physical security remains extremely important.
Americans are developing countermeasures to protect their power grids from computer and physical attacks.
With Hydro-Québec just investing $2 billion to acquire 13 hydroelectric power plants in New England and having its lines extended to New York soon, it’s sure to benefit.
