In the last week or so, this story just hit the news. It has been covered up for almost a year now:
Sniper attack on power grid alarms lawmakers - Electric Light & Power
Last year a sniper(s) attacked the PG&E power grid in California 1st taking out AT&T comms cables including 911 and then shooting over 100rds into a key substation taking out 17 of 20 transformers. It took 27 days to repair and only avoided blackouts with quick response by power company to reroute energy flow over alternative lines. A terrorist attack? Domestic attack? Who did this and why?
I have a extensive background in high voltage T&D power systems and over the years have seen the results of limited acts of domestic sabotage using rifles to take out key power transformers during strikes and what not. After 911, the threat of terrorist attack to the power grid seemed to me to be one of the greatest that we face in some parts of the country. We forget how dependent we are on electric power these days until we face a long term, wide-spread blackout (which rarely ever happens). Today, we communicate electronically, we do our banking, purchasing, selling and business all electronically. What would we do if 5, 6, 11 states or more suddenly went black, not for days, but for weeks or months? ATM's do not work, TV and radio is down. Gas pumps down, grocery stores cannot sell and refrigeration fails. Within days the telephones no longer work. Radio and cell repeaters fail. How much cash do you have in your pocket? How much fuel in the truck? How much fresh water is stored? How much canned, dried food do you have? What about your neighbors? How long before chaos takes over? The risk is real. We all need to be better prepared for events such as these. Even without terrorist threats there is still the risks from hurricane, tornado, earthquake.
I know why but it still concerns me that our Government chose to hide this terrorist act from us. That lack of information makes us less prepared instead of more. When I worked in California, we stored in our office enough emergency food and water to last for 20 days as a measure against earthquake. Yet nobody considered blackout. In the old days everybody had a fireplace or a potbellied stove in their homes and businesses. They traded and bought/sold using cash and all knew how to preserve food and meat using canning, smoking, drying, etc. Water came from the dug well in the yard. If a cash register was present, it was mechanical. If fuel was pumped, it was by hand. Today, that is NOT the case. That puts us all at risk. Manual, mechanical back up systems are needed for critical infrastructure. Cities are most at risk. The farmers have fuel in storage, some access to water, and both crops, and livestock to draw from in the even of an upset. Most city dwellers would be suffering from thirst and hunger within a matter of days. It could get ugly very quickly. Law enforcement would have difficulty even though backup generators and stored fuel would keep them operating for a while. After a few days or a week or so, even MRE's would start to sound good. Roman proverb that I paraphrase said, "Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
Irish
Sniper attack on power grid alarms lawmakers - Electric Light & Power
Last year a sniper(s) attacked the PG&E power grid in California 1st taking out AT&T comms cables including 911 and then shooting over 100rds into a key substation taking out 17 of 20 transformers. It took 27 days to repair and only avoided blackouts with quick response by power company to reroute energy flow over alternative lines. A terrorist attack? Domestic attack? Who did this and why?
I have a extensive background in high voltage T&D power systems and over the years have seen the results of limited acts of domestic sabotage using rifles to take out key power transformers during strikes and what not. After 911, the threat of terrorist attack to the power grid seemed to me to be one of the greatest that we face in some parts of the country. We forget how dependent we are on electric power these days until we face a long term, wide-spread blackout (which rarely ever happens). Today, we communicate electronically, we do our banking, purchasing, selling and business all electronically. What would we do if 5, 6, 11 states or more suddenly went black, not for days, but for weeks or months? ATM's do not work, TV and radio is down. Gas pumps down, grocery stores cannot sell and refrigeration fails. Within days the telephones no longer work. Radio and cell repeaters fail. How much cash do you have in your pocket? How much fuel in the truck? How much fresh water is stored? How much canned, dried food do you have? What about your neighbors? How long before chaos takes over? The risk is real. We all need to be better prepared for events such as these. Even without terrorist threats there is still the risks from hurricane, tornado, earthquake.
I know why but it still concerns me that our Government chose to hide this terrorist act from us. That lack of information makes us less prepared instead of more. When I worked in California, we stored in our office enough emergency food and water to last for 20 days as a measure against earthquake. Yet nobody considered blackout. In the old days everybody had a fireplace or a potbellied stove in their homes and businesses. They traded and bought/sold using cash and all knew how to preserve food and meat using canning, smoking, drying, etc. Water came from the dug well in the yard. If a cash register was present, it was mechanical. If fuel was pumped, it was by hand. Today, that is NOT the case. That puts us all at risk. Manual, mechanical back up systems are needed for critical infrastructure. Cities are most at risk. The farmers have fuel in storage, some access to water, and both crops, and livestock to draw from in the even of an upset. Most city dwellers would be suffering from thirst and hunger within a matter of days. It could get ugly very quickly. Law enforcement would have difficulty even though backup generators and stored fuel would keep them operating for a while. After a few days or a week or so, even MRE's would start to sound good. Roman proverb that I paraphrase said, "Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
Irish
