Attacks on the nation’s power grid are suddenly on the rise, according to federal regulators, who are now weighing additional security requirements for power stations to fend off vandalism.
Some of the attacks were with gunfire which cut off electricity to thousands of customers since October.
The latest incident happened on Christmas Day in Washington state. Thousands of homes lost power after vandals broke into four power substations and damaged equipment, in one instance causing a fire. Law enforcement officials have yet to solve six prior attempts to sabotage electrical substations in both Washington and Oregon that began in mid-November.
Grid attacks are happening on the East Coast as well. The Christmas Day attack in Washington followed a Dec. 3 break-in at two Duke Energy electrical substations in Moore County, North Carolina. Vandals there caused significant damage with gunfire, cutting power for several days to more than 40,000 residents.
Shots were also fired at a Duke Energy hydroelectric dam in Ridgeway, South Carolina, on Dec. 8, but there was no damage.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, concerned over the uptick in vandalism, has ordered a review of the physical security standards at power stations and substations, including considering whether to set a minimum level of protection.
“In light of the increasing number of recent reports of physical attacks on our nation’s infrastructure, it is important that we fully and clearly review the effectiveness of our existing physical security standard to determine whether additional improvements are necessary to safeguard the bulk power system,” FERC Chairman Richard Glick said at a recent commission meeting.
Many of the nation’s 55,000 power substations are unstaffed and often located in remote areas with limited protection from sabotage. But the substations are a critical part of the electrical distribution system and when damaged, it can result in significant power outages.
“This kind of critical infrastructure is something that we just need to take the measures to make sure it’s protected,” said Richard Mroz, a senior advisor at Protect our Power, which advocates for more grid security.
Mr. Mroz said grid attacks are not new. A 2013 sniper attack at Pacific Gas and Electric’s Metcalf substation near San Jose, California, caused $15 million in damage. As a result, the substation is now physically protected from gunfire and other vandalism. After the incident, the company hardened the facility with security cameras, lighting and a concrete barrier. Statewide, PG&E pledged to spend $100 million to upgrade security at power stations across the state.
“We just have to be smarter about how we are protecting these facilities,” Mr. Mroz told The Washington Times. “We can’t have armed guards at these sites, it’s just not feasible. So you’re going to have to be smarter about what the protective infrastructure can be.”
Ross Johnson, an expert in electrical grid security, said that power companies weighing the recent attacks will consider installing concrete or cinder block walls and ballistic paneling to shield critical components from gunfire.
Most of the time, Mr. Johnson said, incidents at power substations involve theft, usually of materials made of copper.
“Damage from gunfire is exceedingly rare,” he said.
The Metcalf vandals have not been apprehended, nor have any of the saboteurs who attacked the substations in Oregon, Washington, South Carolina and North Carolina in recent weeks.
The attacks led to speculation about the vandals’ political motives. The North Carolina substation attack occurred near the site of protests over a drag queen show for kids, but law enforcement found no connection between the vandalism and those protesting the show.
Others have theorized eco-terrorists are damaging the substations to protest the nation’s use of fossil fuels.
In February, the Justice Department announced three men pleaded guilty to plotting attacks on several electric substations across the U.S. “in furtherance of White supremacist ideology.”
Mr. Mroz said the recent string of attacks could suggest domestic terrorism. No matter who is behind the vandalism, he said, “We’ve always said that those owners, operators and the regulators, need to be thinking about things a couple of steps ahead.”