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 ...
But, but, they are illegal in California.
I’m shocked
A BB gun coculd be edefined as an assault rifle, if the Left wants it to be. Actually, I think this was probably just another ignorant “journalist” that is stuck on certain phrases.
The use of assault rifle is so tossed around that the term didn’t even register on me. As one reply said “everything is an assault rifle”
Our grid is old and wouldn’t take much to take out.
Right. April 15th and April 16th. A day apart.
Then, for 19 minutes, someone opened fire from long-range.
The sniper apparently utilized 7.62x39mm rounds, such as those used in an AK-47, to target the oil-driven cooling systems for 17 large transformers. The shell casings found at the scene had been wiped clean of fingerprints. According to Newsmax none of the transformers exploded, but the damage was significant enough for PG&E to force their electricity feeds to reroute through another station in an effort to prevent a widespread blackout
Probably. But I don't think your problem is Low T...
Mr. Wellinghoff, then chairman of FERC, said that after he heard about the scope of the attack, he flew to California, bringing with him experts from the U.S. Navy’s Dahlgren Surface Warfare Center in Virginia, which trains Navy SEALs. After walking the site with PG&E officials and FBI agents, Mr. Wellinghoff said, the military experts told him it looked like a professional job.
In addition to fingerprint-free shell casings, they pointed out small piles of rocks, which they said could have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots.
“They said it was a targeting package just like they would put together for an attack,” Mr. Wellinghoff said.
I read somewhere that that was the exact intent. An explosion would have attracted attention from the nearby freeway, but as it it, they got 110 hits and almost took out the station without raising a fuss.
Dress rehearsal.
there’s a rifle in that post?
In this regard, an expert marksman could do a catastrophic amount of damage.
Expert Marksmen don't use the 762 X 39 or an AK47. Good for spray and pray shooting, but are inherently somewhat inaccurate. It certainly is not an accurate long distance round. This sounds more like amateurs or false flag to get the peasants riled.
My first thought. How the Hell do they know they were using “assault rifles?”
Especially with a Barrett .338 Lapua Magnum........
A number of strategically chosen sites across the nation - say 30 or 40 rifle teams, could probably cause a nationwide power collapse.
Know how long it takes to make, procure, ship and install a high voltage transformer?
We could be out of power for over a year......
Well, you’re probably correct in this particular case, that round and weapon is probably not the weapon of choice. My comment was more general in nature.
An expert marksman would know which round/weapon was best suited PROVIDED someone somewhere was able to supply the correct point of aim.
Not really. That “soft underbelly” is more accurately represented by our refusal to acknowledge the fact Islam seeks our destruction. Until that changes, we will continue the failure that is defensive strategy. In the pursuit of that strategy, the American people will lose their freedoms. If we wish to survive, to win, we must go on the offensive. In every sense of the word.
Back in the 60s, a fired manager of the local electrical co-op knocked out power for a large area by shooting transformers.
Actually I don’t think they caught him so didn’t have proof but were pretty sure he was the one.
They used a rifle that shoots the same round as an AK. It may or may not have been an AK. The media just had to toss that in to vilify semi-auto firearms. I heard one guy out of Washington say it was an "automatic" weapon. He is full of crap clear up past his ears. He did not say this out of ignorance, he just bluntly lied. We still need to call them each and every time on their lies.
Without asking the gunman, the intent can never be known. All this speculation merely reinforces the position that people talking about it don't know WFT they're talking about.
.50 BMG would be even worse......
“1:51 a.m. Police arrive but can’t enter the locked substation”
“Can’t” or “didn’t want to”? Did the police really want to go onto an electrical substation’s grounds without an escort?
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