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
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.
.22 caliber would have been a better choice, quieter, and gives you more time to escape. You just need to make about twice as many holes for the same result.
Thank God this was done in April, when electricity usage is low.
Had it been done on a hot day in the summer, or a cold day in the winter, either early morning or late afternoon, when usage generally peaks, the transformers would have been running a lot hotter, and probably have blown.
The switch gear to turn them on and off generally receive their commands via telephone lines or microwave.
Knocking out this made it impossible for the control center to shut down the power to the transformers, it had to be done manually.
The alternative was to open the switches feeding the lines into the substation at the other end, which, not knowing the total situation, the control center operators may not want to do.
A roll of aluminum foil takes care of the microwave. Crooks have been doing that recently at convenience stores to take down the credit card verification system so they can make fraudulent purchases.
What I fear most, is that a few hundred of an enemy draining the cooling systems of transformers around the country simultaneously could put us in pre - electricity days in a few hours.
We would remain in that situation probably for several years.