Portland officials say state-wide attacks on electrical substations were deliberate

Portland officials say state-wide attacks on electrical substations were deliberate: SEVEN plants across America are sabotaged amid suspicion it's a right-wing protest over drag eventsTwo Portland electrical substations were deliberately targeted last month, officials reveal amid several other states reporting attacks
Power at the substations left residents briefly without power on Thanksgiving
The attack comes as North Carolina and Washington were also targeted
Electricity in North Carolina was restored on Thursday after the attack
FBI are probing if the grid attacks were triggered by opponents of a drag show

By VANESSA SERNA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The two attacks on Portland's electrical substations were pre-meditated, officials said, as other states are on 'high alert' after Washington and North Carolina were also targeted.

Officials in Oregon are still probing the Thanksgiving electrical attacks at Portland General Electric and Bonneville Power Administration in Clackamas County.

In total, at least seven attacks have been recorded in the US in recent weeks. In North Carolina, the FBI is currently investigating if their grid attacks were triggered by opponents of a drag show.
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'We have confirmed that this was malicious intent, it was no accident,' Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesperson told KATU news.

Two Portland electrical substations were deliberately targeted last month, officials reveal amid several other states reporting attacks. Pictured: a PGE transformer

 


Power stations in a number of US states have been threatened or targeted for attacks in recent weeks, prompting American law enforcement to warn citizens about a need to secure the power grid

About 106 attacks on the electrical grid in the US have been reported from January to August of this year - and there have been close to 600 since 2014, according to NBC.

BPA has increased security measures to prevent additional attacks on their system following the wave of ambushes recently.

'We actually have increased security around substations in the area just as a precaution to ratchet that up from what we typically do,' Johnson told the news outlet.

Johnson previously said the BPA is working with the FBI on the incident and has 'encouraged other utilities throughout the region to increase their vigilance and report any suspicious or similar activity to law enforcement.'

The FBI would not confirm or deny that it is investigating the attacks, though the companies said they are cooperating with a federal investigation.

As attacks across the country have been on the rise, the Department of Homeland Security has also warned about the threats to the US electric infrastructure.

A Duke Energy employee works to repair the damage at the Moore County substation in North Carolina

As well as North Carolina and Oregon, there were ambushes to electrical infrastructures in Washington state in November.

Puget Sound Energy and two Cowlitz County Public Utility District substations were vandalized.

Gerald Tracy, the media engagement program manager at Puget Sound Energy said that he was unable to 'comment on the incidents because they are both an ongoing investigation involving the FBI.'

A federal law enforcement memo revealed that the Pacific Northwest substations have described attacks using 'handtools, arson, firearms, and metal chains possibly in response to an online call for attacks on critical infrastructure.'

'In recent attacks, criminal actors bypassed security fences by cutting the fence links, lighting nearby fires, shooting equipment from a distance or throwing objects over the fence and on to equipment,' read the memo.

Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating if the two attacks in North Carolina were linked to an electrical substation were intended to kill the power at a drag queen event.

An LGBTQ nonprofit in North Carolina had set up a drag show at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines on Saturday night around the same time when the electric facilities were targeted with gunfire around 7pm.

The incident led to officials declaring a state of emergency as about 32,000 southeastern residents were left without power until Thursday.

 

A worker inspects one of three 'bullet holes' that crippled the North Carolina substation

Investigators are now determining if the backlash the 18 or older show received leading up to the performance led to the targeted attack.

Organizers of the drag show revealed that right-wing activists had tried to shut down the event for weeks leading up to it. In response to the threats, extra security was hired for the Saturday event.

The number of rounds fired at the two electrical facilities hasn't been clarified. No arrests have been made.

The two damaged stations are located about 20 minutes apart of each other in West End and Carthage.

The drag show at the Sunrise Theater was cut short around 8.30pm after show throwers realized the power wouldn't come back on.

A Duke Energy spokesperson told The Washington Post that one area of the facilities experienced damage in some areas 'beyond repair.'

Power was officially restored to customers on Thursday.

The outage came as a drag show was underway at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines
NC governor says power grid outage resulted from 'criminal attack'

On Wednesday night, Duke Energy reported that it had been made aware of yet more gunshots that occurred near the Wateree Hydro Station in Kershaw County, South Carolina.

'No individuals were harmed. There are no outages reported. There is no known property damage at this time. We are working closely with the FBI on this issue,' read the statement in part.

The US Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis warned early this year that domestic extremists 'have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020.'

Though experts warn that it would be difficult to shut down a significant portion of the power grid, a the recent attack in North Carolina showcased how tough it can be for a community to make do without power for the better part of a week.

Energy experts have expressed the real need to secure the country's power grid, especially as domestic terrorist's become further emboldened to toy with the country's public utilities.