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| 'Military Style' Attack On California Power Station In April Spooks U.S. Intelligence Officials | |
| 2014-01-01 | |
| [ForeignPolicy] When U.S. officials warn about "attacks" on electric power facilities these days, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a computer hacker trying to shut the lights off in a city with malware. But a more traditional attack on a power station in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, has U.S. officials puzzled and worried about the physical security of the the electrical grid--from attackers who come in with guns blazing. Around 1:00 AM on April 16, at least one individual (possibly two) entered two different manholes at the PG&E Metcalf power substation, southeast of San Jose, and cut fiber cables in the area around the substation. That knocked out some local 911 services, landline service to the substation, and cell phone service in the area, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy. The intruder(s) then fired more than 100 rounds from what two officials described as a high-powered rifle at several transformers in the facility. Ten transformers were damaged in one area of the facility, and three transformer banks -- or groups of transformers -- were hit in another, according to a PG&E front man. Cooling oil then leaked from a transformer bank, causing the transformers to overheat and shut down. State regulators urged customers in the area to conserve energy over the following days, but there was no long-term damage reported at the facility and there were no major power outages. There were no injuries reported. That was the good news. The bad news is that officials don't know who the shooter(s) were, and most importantly, whether further attacks are planned. Local Sherlocks seemed to hit a dead end in June, so they released surveillance footage of the shooting. But that apparently produced no new information. The FBI says there have been no tips from the public about who the shooter might be and what he was doing there.
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| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #11 And people wonder why Texas has an independent power grid. Unfortunately I don't live in Texas. |
| Posted by: Retied LEO 2014-01-01 21:50 |
| #10 "decentralized and standardized replacement tech" Committees of our best men are considering this proposal. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-01-01 21:28 |
| #9 LOL |
| Posted by: KBK 2014-01-01 21:24 |
| #8 TW, you make a compelling argument, I suspect it would take about 1 week, but the transformer wouldn't need replacement, It'd be permanent.(And bulletproof, that's not done for economical reasons, not that it can't) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-01-01 18:47 |
| #7 So many years ago I read that California is rather vulnerable due to the few transmission lines coming into the state. This was back 10 yrs or so when the news was all about brownouts in the state. They have such strict rules on pollution most of the new power plants were built in the bordering states. A neat map is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UnitedStatesPowerGrid.jpg |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2014-01-01 16:36 |
| #6 This electrical grid is a Charlie Foxtrot. Need SHIELD act and find decentralized and standardized replacement tech. |
| Posted by: newc 2014-01-01 16:34 |
| #5 Redneck Jim, you are a master mechanic. How long would it take you and a team to cobble together a replacement transformer that would do until a properly manufactured one could be shipped from wherever abroad such things are made? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-01-01 14:42 |
| #4 "There are ways that a very few number of actors with very rudimentary equipment could take down large portions of our grid, Not Mine, no transformers, a waste of time for terrorists, they'd only shut down my house, and that's a fools errand. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-01-01 10:25 |
| #3 As I read this the question that I came up with was "Where is the MSM on this?" I virtually never watch or listen to the MSM other than ESPN and saw nothing about this until recently on line (thanks 'burg). So for me a serious question is: Would it be better to publicize this so people can be alert, or is it better to keep it low so people don't panic? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-01-01 08:18 |
| #2 Disgruntled current or former employees (or April 15th tax payers) might be places to look. I'd recommend CCTV be augmented by discreetly placed ground sensor alarms. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-01-01 03:06 |
| #1 Other readings I've done show the worst vulnerability are the high voltage high capacity transformers, which are custom made & have to be imported from abroad. Knocking out one of those would cause electric disruption immediately & restrict the grid until the items were replaced. Knocking out several at the same time would cause major problems. Methods to quickly replace damaged units are still being researched. A simple way to interfere with gunshot sabotage is to erect shields to interfere with a sniper's targeting. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-01-01 01:23 |