Terrorist Threat To U.S. Power Grid Grows

Investor's Business Daily ^ | Feb. 7, 2014 | IBD

[raptor22]

War On Terror: New information about a sniper assault on Silicon Valley's phone lines and power grid has raised fears that the nation's power grid is vulnerable to terrorism.

The prospect that the unsolved attack on an electrical substation near San Jose just hours after the Boston Marathon bombing in April could have been a terrorist act was raised anew last week by Jon Wellinghoff, former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"This is the most sophisticated and extensive attack that's ever occurred on the grid to my knowledge," he told the Associated Press, contradicting FBI denials that terrorism was involved. "I don't know what the definition of terrorism is other than when an extremely well-trained group attacks a major piece of infrastructure in an expertly planned attack."

Wellinghoff also mused recently that the attack might have been a dress rehearsal for a more widespread attack on a national grid vulnerable to disruption. "There are ways that a very few number of actors with very rudimentary equipment could take down large portions of our grid," he told Foreign Policy. "I don't think we have the level of physical security we need."

An attack by intruders with guns and rifles could be just as devastating as any cyberattack, he said.

The April 16, 2013, attack on Pacific Gas & Electric's Metcalf transmission substation attack began when intruders lifted heavy manhole covers at about 1:30 a.m. in two places on Monterey Highway, south of San Jose, climbed under the road and cut AT&T fiber-optic cables, temporarily knocking out phone service.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that in just 19 minutes, gunmen fired more than 100 rounds into substation equipment, disabling 17 of 20 big transformers, causing about $16 million in damage.

[DrewsMum]

This is probably a very dumb question.

But, isn’t the nation’s power on more than one grid? Aren’t there 3? Anyone?

[bunkerhill7]

This is pure unadulterated BS:

“This is the most sophisticated and extensive attack that’s ever occurred on the grid to my knowledge,”

Bill Ayers` Weathermen tried to knock out the Oakland-East Bay power grids in 1969-70`s by blowing up the Oakland Airport substation next to the Nimitz Freeway 880/ I wuz there and heard the shrapnel hit thru the quonset hut.

[TurboZamboni]

And Texas has their own.

[Lion Den Dan]

They knew what they were doing.

7.62x39 ammo is hardly what one who knows what he/she is doing would use. Way too wimpy.

[ALASKA]

I’m no fan of Bronco Bama, but what does he have to do with this?

[GOPJ]

If there was any chance it was right wingers behind this it would be on the front page of the New York Times. And every other newspaper in the country. They hate us that much. So, absent that, we can assume it's some racial muslim group or Hispanic drug gang or some other group the left wants to protect from bad publicity.

[Salvation]

BTTT!