Next time the power grid in Chester County Pennsylvania goes down I’ll wonder if some anti-government guy with a rifle did it. Cats out of the bag. A rifle can take down a power grid.

Understand that anyone with a rifle can take out an electric power substation. I expect multiple copycats. 

Using a rifle to take down a power grid ain't a new idea. North Carolina is the first success. 

11 News Colorado Springs

 Dec. 23, 2020

 "The informant told law enforcement that the group planned to fire rifles into the power facilities. The court document states those under investigation referenced the white supremacist group 'Atomwaffen.”

FROM:

‘Lights Out’: Neo-Nazi plot to disable power grid allegedly included attacking sub-station in Colorado

“Washington law enforcement sources confirm that they received a memo from the FBI warning them about similar attacks to power stations in the Pacific Northwest.

The memo read:

"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."

Some of those attacks happened within the last couple weeks.

One of the largest power providers in the state, Puget Sound Energy, told KING 5 Wednesday that two incidents occurred at their stations in late November.

"We are aware of recent threats on power systems across the country and take these very seriously. We are monitoring our infrastructure and can confirm we have had two incidents occur in late November at two different substations. Both incidents are under investigation by the FBI," said a representative of PSE.

To further understand what might be the potential motive for such attacks on the power grid, we spoke with a journalist who has spent years researching and reporting on the actions of extremist groups.

"The trope of attacking power infrastructure-- of hitting the electrical grid, critical infrastructure -- is an old tenet of the American extreme right wing," said Ali Winston, an independent journalist.”

MORE AT:

K5

'It was deliberate': Power grid stations in Pacific Northwest fall victim to recent attacks

Washington law enforcement sources say they received a memo from the FBI warning them about attacks to power stations in the Pacific Northwest.

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"Where the North Carolina investigation stands

Anti-government groups in the past two years began using online forums to urge followers to attack critical infrastructure, including the power grid. They have posted documents and even instructions outlining vulnerabilities and suggesting the use of high-powered rifles.

One 14-page guide obtained by CNN cited as an example the 2013 sniper attack on a high voltage substation at the edge of Silicon Valley that destroyed 17 transformers and cost Pacific Gas and Electric $15 million in repairs.

The caliber of the bullets in that California incident is different from those used in North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN.

But whoever attacked the North Carolina substations “knew exactly what they were doing,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields has said.

Investigators recovered around the damaged substations nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle, law enforcement sources told CNN. While no rifle has been recovered, the ballistics may still offer critical evidence. And bullets pulled from a transformer station and brass shell casings found a short distance away are being examined, the sources said.

The casings can be entered into a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives database and matched to any other shell casings fired by the same gun at another crime scene, or to the gun itself if it’s found. The locations of the casings may also offer clues.

The sheriff on Wednesday asked the public to provide any surveillance footage from the areas that were hit and announced $75,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

Someone who lives near the West End substation heard around 20 gunshots in quick succession the night of the attack on the station, he told CNN affiliate WRAL. The power did not go out for about 30 minutes after that, he said.

“Me and my wife were just sitting on the couch just watching a movie and all of the sudden, about 8:45, about 20 shots fired off right across the street,” Spencer Matthews told WRAL.

The outages crippled the local economy and paralyzed daily life for more than 45,000 homes and businesses. And just because the electricity is back on doesn’t mean the pain is over.

Businesses “have lost a tremendous amount over the last few days,” Moore County Manager Wayne Vest said. The outages affected more than 600 food establishments, Moore County Health Director Matt Garner said

“We know our residents are going to end the day and go through the night in power and light and in safety. But there’s another element of our population is still suffering … and that’s our local merchants,” Pinehurst Mayor John Strickland said.

“If you’re dining out, if you’re only going to go out once, go out twice,” Vest said. “If you were going to shop and buy one package, buy two packages.”

CNN’s Raja Razek, Whitney Wild and Geneva Sands contributed to this report."

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CNN

As more in North Carolina regain power, investigators probe domestic terrorism and threats against power infrastructure across the US