Attacks on 4 Washington Substations Cut Power to Thousands, Officials Say - The New York Times

U.S.|Attacks connected 4 Washington Substations Cut Power to Thousands, Officials Say

Local authorities successful Washington State are investigating a bid of Christmas Day attacks connected 4 powerfulness substations that knocked retired powerfulness to thousands of customers successful the portion and person raised concerns erstwhile again astir the information of the nation’s powerfulness grid.

The attacks travel conscionable weeks aft 2 substations successful North Carolina were damaged by assailants who disabled instrumentality with gunfire, leaving astir 45,000 customers successful agrarian Moore County without powerfulness for days. Those attacks highlighted increasing concerns that the powerfulness grid could beryllium a people for extremist groups and prompted national regulators to order a reappraisal of information standards for the nation’s powerfulness grid.

The authorities successful Pierce County, Wash., said that they had nary suspects and were inactive successful the aboriginal stages of their investigation.

“At this time, deputies are conducting the archetypal investigation,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said successful a statement. “We bash not person immoderate suspects successful custody. It is chartless if determination are immoderate motives oregon if this was a coordinated onslaught connected the powerfulness systems.”

According to the sheriff’s department, the archetypal onslaught occurred sometime earlier 5:30 a.m. connected Sunday, erstwhile officers received a telephone that a Tacoma Public Utilities substation astir 20 miles southbound of downtown Tacoma, had been breached into.

“Nothing had been taken from the substation, but the fishy vandalized the instrumentality causing a powerfulness outage,” the sheriff’s section said. The authorities said that they were soon notified of a 2nd break-in astatine different substation, conscionable implicit 2.5 miles east.

Tacoma Power, which manages some substations, said that aft the attack, much than 7,000 customers successful the regions of Elk Plain and Graham were without power. “Earlier this month, we were alerted by national instrumentality enforcement of a information alert for the electrical grid,” the inferior institution said successful a statement, adding that it could not stock immoderate further details astir its information tactics oregon the attacks.

Late connected Sunday morning, Puget Sound Energy notified the authorities that it had besides experienced a powerfulness nonaccomplishment conscionable earlier 2:40 a.m. that day. The sheriff’s section said it confirmed that the 3rd substation had besides been breached into and vandalized.

That evening, conscionable aft 7:20 p.m., dispatchers were notified of a occurrence astatine a 2nd Puget Sound Energy substation, which the sheriff’s section said had been caused by a vandal and knocked retired powerfulness to homes successful the area.

The inferior said it was coordinating with the authorities and could not remark further connected the investigation. “P.S.E. has extended measures to monitor, support and minimize the hazard to our instrumentality and infrastructure,” the inferior institution wrote successful an email connected Monday, adding that powerfulness to each affected customers had since been restored.

Sheriff’s section officials did not instantly respond to requests for further remark connected Monday, but a dispatcher said by telephone that the F.B.I. was present starring the probe into the attacks.

The Seattle bureau of the F.B.I. said that portion it was “aware of the reports,” it could not corroborate whether oregon not the bureau was looking into them.

“We routinely stock accusation with our section partners and instrumentality threats against our infrastructure seriously,” Steve Bernd, a spokesperson for the F.B.I., wrote successful an email connected Monday evening. “We impulse anyone with accusation to interaction instrumentality enforcement.”

The F.B.I. has confirmed that it is investigating the Dec. 3 gunfire attacks connected the powerfulness grid successful Moore County, N.C.

Gov. Roy Cooper said aft the attacks successful North Carolina that whoever carried retired the battle “knew precisely what they were doing,” and that the occurrence had drawn attraction to the value of protecting captious infrastructure.