War comes folks. Step by step before it’s burning in the streets
Physical attacks on the U.S. power grid rose 71% last year compared with 2021 and will likely increase this year, according to a confidential industry analysis viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
A division of the grid oversight body known as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation found that ballistic damage, intrusion and vandalism largely drove the increase. The analysis also determined that physical security incidents involving power outages have increased 20% since 2020, attributed to people frustrated by the onset of the pandemic, social tensions and economic challenges.
The NERC division, known as the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or E-ISAC, recorded the sharp increase in incidents in 2022, driven in part by a series of clustered attacks on infrastructure in the Southeast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. One of the most significant incidents occurred in early December when attackers targeted several substations in North Carolina with gunfire, leaving roughly 45,000 people in the dark.
CBS, which also got a copy of the leaked report, added this:
The analysis by E-ISAC is the most comprehensive and includes mandatory reporting of incidents to federal agencies or NERC, as well as voluntary disclosures made in confidence.
And while E-ISAC has determined that “overall physical security incident sharing” has increased by 11% since 2021 and 25% since 2020, analysts assess that the spike in grid-impacting incidents “is due to an actual increase in the electric industry’s risk environment and is not just the result of fluctuations in information-sharing patterns by utilities.”
Between 2020 and 2022, E-ISAC tracked 4,493 incidents: 502 received through mandatory reporting and 3,991 through voluntary means.
The vast majority — 97% — of the incidents “resulted in no disruption of service.” But the remaining 3% of incidents resulted in “varying levels of grid impacts.” Toplines of this study were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Eatgrueldog 
IMHO, this is “probing” by several groups to determine if they can actually take out a local or regional grid with gunfire and for how long.
It may also have raised electric co’s awareness on the need to stock more replacement transformers of all sizes.
Last I read, the lead time for transformers is 12-18 months depending on size and NONE OF THEM are sourced in the USA anymore. Thank you U.S. .gov for allowing critical infrastructure repair to be sourced in an enemy country.
One of the things I’ve always believed about this type of activity being linked to “far right militia groups” is this is something they should stay away from, as it will turn the area affected against the militia, if it’s blamed on them, which it probably will be if TSHTF, just so that the remaining local .gov has a scapegoat, even if they do it themselves.
Who wants to live without electricity? I sure don’t. My camp is 1/2 mile from the nearest power line. Used to be over a mile. After spending a week or so there, I appreciate having electricity when I return home.
Nothing like having power pumped water to flush the indoor shitter instead of having to pump it by hand. Especially since we no longer have an outhouse, which was destroyed in a wind storm a couple years ago.
LikeLike
They are walking us to the line. Like it or not, it will probably be coming, When it does, it will be a huirricane of shit.
LikeLike