Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
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Posted on 02/07/2014 9:00:43 AM PST by 12th_Monkey
Shooters armed with assault rifles and some knowledge of electrical utilities have prompted new worries on the vulnerability of California's vast power grid.
A 2013 attack on an electric substation near San Jose that nearly knocked out Silicon Valley's power supply was initially downplayed as vandalism by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the facility's owner. Gunfire from semiautomatic weapons did extensive damage to 17 transformers that sent grid operators scrambling to avoid a blackout.
But this week, a former top power regulator offered a far more ominous interpretation: The attack was terrorism, he said, and if circumstances had been just a little different, it could have been disastrous.
Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission when the shooting took place, said that attack was clearly executed by well-trained individuals seeking to do significant damage to the area, and he fears it was a test run for an even larger assault.
"It would not be that hard to bring down the entire region west of the Rockies if you, in fact, had a coordinated attack like this against a number of substations," Wellinghoff said Thursday. "This [shooting] event shows there are people out there capable of such an attack."
Wellinghoff's warning about the incident at PG&E's Metcalf substation was reported this week by the Wall Street Journal, expanding on a December report by Foreign Policy magazine.
FBI officials said they are taking the shooting very seriously.
"Based on the information we have right now, we don't believe it's related to terrorism," said Peter Lee, an FBI spokesman in San Francisco. But, he added, "Until we understand the motives, we won't be 100% sure it's not terrorism."
Months after the shooting, the bureau has named no suspects.
Article at the link
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
In this regard, an expert marksman could do a catastrophic amount of damage.
This was done at the same time as the Boston marathon bombing.
“Shooters armed with assault rifles.”
Oh really? I guess everything is an assault rifle nowadays.
It’s a no win situation. America is huge, can’t protect it all.
I’m sure. Sling shot too, can’t carry over 7 stones in NYC
Thread from yesterday:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3120097/posts
Link to Wall Street Journal Story:
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Especially since the marksman does not have to worry about return fire from transformers.
They used AK47s
Sound familiar? IRS, Benghazi, "...not a smidgeon of corruption.......
The key isn’t really the marksmanship, it is in knowing where that shot has to land.
Post NO GUNS signs around the transformers. There problem solved!
I think I have some sort of problem.....I watched this for at least 5 minutes....
The transformers on which we rely are poorly secured, very expensive and have lead times of a year. Annual production is about 100 units worldwide.
Yeah, shooting the equipment with a >1 year lead time is different than shooting the off-the-shelf items.
!
Post a picture of Michelle Obama, that would keep everything out
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