Experts say sabotage on substations shows power grid still at risk

A recent spate of attacks on electrical substations in North Carolina and other states has underscored the continued vulnerability of the nation’s electrical grid, according to experts who warn that the power system has become a prime target for rightwing extremists.

Over the past three months, at least nine substations have been attacked in North Carolina, Washington state and Oregon, cutting power to tens of thousands of people. After those attacks, federal regulators ordered a review of security standards for the electrical system.

The FBI on Friday said it was offering two $25,000 rewards for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for shooting and damaging two substations in Moore County, N.C., on Dec. 3 and for shooting at another substation in Randolph County, N.C., on Jan. 17. The Moore County attack caused 45,000 people to lose power, some for five days.

Concerned about the sabotage, legislators in North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona have introduced bills that would require 24-hour security at substations or toughen penalties for damaging them.

The proposals represent the latest efforts to protect the grid since 2013, when a sniper attack on a power station in California raised alarms.

Because they house transformers that transfer power from region to region, the tens of thousands of substations across the country represent the most vulnerable nodes in the nation’s vast electrical grid, said Jon Wellinghoff, a former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

While federal rules require utilities to periodically review security at the most critical substations, many smaller substations in rural areas remain protected by little more than chain-link fencing, security cameras and lighting, Wellinghoff said. That leaves them vulnerable to rifle attacks, he said.

While regulators have long worried about terrorism at substations, there is concern among national security officials and researchers that the stations have become attractive targets for right-wing extremists.

From 2016 to 2022, white supremacist plots targeting energy systems “dramatically increased in frequency,” according to a study released in September by researchers at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Over that period, 13 people associated with white supremacist movements were charged in federal courts with planning attacks on the energy sector, the study said, and 11 of those were charged after 2020.