Dec. 5, 2022 Attacks on North Carolina substations leave thousands without power

The Biden administration is “closely” monitoring and offering federal support on an investigation into power outages in Moore County, North Carolina, believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” attacks on substations that left around 40,000 customers in the dark Saturday night.

President Joe Biden is “staying aware of this,” National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Monday. 

The FBI joined an investigation into the power outages on Sunday, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that she has been in touch with Duke Energy and that the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response “is working with federal partners.”

The Biden administration has made cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, much of which is owned and operated by the private sector, a key priority. Biden signed a national security memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year makes investments in modernizing existing infrastructure. 

Biden, Kirby said Monday, has “made critical infrastructure security and the resilience of that infrastructure, regardless of whether it's from natural threats, or manmade threats, he made it a priority since the very, very beginning.” 

Attacks on the United States’ power grid have been the subject of extremist chatter for some time, notably ticking up in 2020, the same year a 14-page how-to on low tech attacks was released and circulated amongst extremist communication channels.

A Department of Homeland Security Bulletin reported by CNN just days before the attack on a North Carolina substation indicated there was a heightened threat posed by domestic violent extremists in the United States against targets including critical infrastructure.

On Nov. 30, DHS renewed a national bulletin warning that lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances pose a lethal threat to the United States.

The advisory said in part “DHS maintained that potential targets include but are not limited to public gatherings, faith-based institutions, the LGBTQIA+ community, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, US critical infrastructure, the media and perceived ideological opponents."

The electric grid has been described as an “attractive target” for domestic violent extremists in US, CNN reported earlier this year, citing an intelligence report.

In 2020 intelligence analysts saw major uptick in online chatter focused on attacking the Power Grid.

Notably in 2020, a 14-page document released in a Telegram channel favored by accelerationist groups seeking to speed the overthrow of the US government featured a White supremacist instruction guide to low-tech attacks meant to bring chaos, including how to attack a power grid with guns.

The document has been cited by Department of Homeland officials and was obtained by CNN.

“The powergrid would be crippled for a very large area. Armor piercing rounds shot into the transformers would destroy them,” the colorful how-to describes.

The writer goes on to frame how massive blackouts would aide in the toppling of society which is a key accelerationist goal. 

“But with the power off, when the lights don’t come back on… all hell will break lose, making conditions desirable for our race to once again take back what is ours,” the document reads.  

Several unique attempts to attack various grids have been cited by intelligence officials that analyze these specific threats. 

Investigators discovered a four-rotor drone July 16, 2020, in Pennsylvania recovered from the roof of a power station, according to a DHS Bulletin in Oct. 2021.

CNN reported earlier this year that in May 2020, three people claiming to be Boogaloo adherents allegedly conspired to attack an electrical substation in Las Vegas as part of an attempt to incite riots and violence amid demonstrations in the city. 

The suspects were charged with conspiracy to damage and destroy by fire and explosive and with possession of unregistered firearms.

The unsolved case of the attack on the Metcalf Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) substation in Coyote, California, on April 16, 2013 set the bar for these types of attacks and has been a case study for intelligence officials

The vulnerabilities of the Power Grid have been closely examined by the Department of Energy, DHS and Congress.

According to the National Research Council, tasked by congress to examine these vulnerabilities, the US grid consists of:

CNN's Geneva Sands, Whitney Wild and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report

Thousands of customers are still in the dark Monday after "targeted" attacks on substations knocked out power in Moore County, North Carolina, over the weekend — and it could still be a few more days until most power is restored, according to the energy company.

Duke Energy said it has restored power to around 7,000 customers since the outage, but it believes most customers will not see energy restored until Thursday, the company said in a statement on its website Monday.

Around  38,000 customers remain without power, it said.

Hollifield, in a statement Sunday, said that crews are working 24-hour shifts to make repairs. Once they fix equipment, which could take several days, the company will need to test everything "before beginning the final restoration process."

Duke Energy said it is working with law enforcement and various investigating agencies.

A pharmacy in Moore County, North Carolina, is depending on generators to keep them open so they can continue to fill patient prescriptions in the midst of power outages in the community.

Rob Barrett, the owner of Whispering Pines Prescription Shoppe, told CNN his team rushed to protect the pharmacy’s inventory when the power went out Saturday night. 

“We quickly removed the medicine from the pharmacy’s fridge,” Barrett said. “I stored some medicine in my home which was being powered by a generator and other employees who lived outside the country helped by storing inventory in their homes.”

Barrett believes he has enough gas to keep the generator in the pharmacy running for a few days but the gasoline shortage in the community has impacted the number of employees who able to make it to work.  

Barrett has also had to pause prescriptions deliveries until the power comes back on because of safety concerns, he said. 

“Since the power is out so are the traffic lights. We don’t want to risk our employees’ safety by asking them to drive on roads without traffic lights," Barrett said.

The pharmacy has seen an increase in new customers who have had to transfer their prescriptions to his pharmacy because of the power outage’s impact on other pharmacies, Barrett added.

Communication is another obstacle the local pharmacy is dealing with. 

“Our phones may be affected as well so if you are not able to get us on the phone please try to email us,” the pharmacy wrote on their Facebook page. 

Barrett also owns another pharmacy in the nearby town of Seven Lakes that was initially impacted but has had its power restored as of Sunday. 

Southern Pines, North Carolina, Mayor Carol Haney said 100% of the city is without power after power substations in Moore County were damaged by gunfire on Saturday night. 

Haney told CNN Monday there are several grocery stores and gas stations that are open in town, as well as a city 30 minutes away that people are able to get to for services. 

When asked what she would say to the person responsible for shooting the substations, Haney did not mince her words. 

“There’s very little to say that you can print,” she said.

Haney said that she had to get her 98-year-old mother out of the city and to Charlotte so she could be in a warm home.

Calling her city exceptional, Haney said it was amazing to watch people in the community are taking care of each other. 

The FBI and local authorities are investigating. 

Those facing power outages in Moore County, North Carolina will experience temperatures in the mid-40s tonight. Tuesday afternoon the temperature will reach into the lower 60s. 

The average high and low temperature for early December is in the upper 50s and mid-30s, respectively.

Beyond Tuesday temperatures will be well above normal for the remainder of the week. Low temperatures will be in the mid-50s and highs in the afternoon will top 70.

As of Monday afternoon, there are more than 34,000 customers still without power in North Carolina, according to Poweroutage.us data.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to address the media about the attacks on substations in Moore County that left thousands without power over the weekend.

The outages are believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” attacks, officials say. No suspects or motive have been announced. The FBI has joined the investigation.

On Sunday, Cooper announced that state law enforcement were involved in the investigation into the Moore County power outages.