State of Emergency declared, FBI investigating power grid attack in North Carolina

[atomheartbevo 89668]

I’m going to ignore what the sheriff says and wait for the FBI briefings, because I’m willing to bet that they aren’t praying with the people hinting that they know what happened.

[YGIFS 19450]

7 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I’m going to ignore what the sheriff says and wait for the FBI briefings, because I’m willing to bet that they aren’t praying with the people hinting that they know what happened.

Maybe you're just not listening close enough.  Even the FBI is praying.  They're praying the heck outta that prayer.  And lotsa thoughts, too.  Although to be fair, it's exhausting now in America sending out so many thoughts and prayers these days.  You got the schools, the malls, the theaters, the grocers, the break rooms, the churches, the mosques, the synagogues, and now the electrical substations to pray for?  It's a full-time job.  As an elder at my parish IRL, I know my praycard is full these days.  

All we know at this point is there's a half-dozen monsters watching all of this confusion and spitballing unfold within the media, and they're fucking laughing at us.  And part of me doesn't blame them at all for laughing because we're ridiculous.  My darkest concerns for my country now apparently stop right at their darkest inspirations.  I miss the days of worrying about Al Qaeda getting me at the outlet mall.  

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

15 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

Lol. Yeah, it would be super expensive to harden the grid. No way that costs more than a nation wide blackout for days (weeks?) in the middle of winter. 
 

ETA: or really any time of the year

There's never time or money to do it right.  There's always time or money to do it over.

[Nivek 16930]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Never caught anyone. Just listened to one of the FERC guys who investigated it on NPR. They were actually shooting through the chain link fence from not far away.
And the guy said we could harden these targets with something as cheap and simple as sandbags.

Quote

 

 

[YGIFS 19450]

2013 San Jose power grid shootings weren’t solved because the Bay Area is a godless desert lacking in thoughts and prayers.  The Bible was very clear on the need to appeal to the patron saints of firearms and electrical infrastructure.  

[Captainant 27668]

4 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

The Bible was very clear on the need to appeal to the patron saints of firearms and electrical infrastructure.  

[4th and 5 4914]

Electric Grid Restoration: Rapid and Reliable Replacement of Critical Assets

Utilities need an all-threats solution that restores power faster and helps to protect reputational risks.

David E. Rupert

 

America’s electric grid is our most critical piece of energy infrastructure.  But it faces increasing threats and challenges which will affect its reliability and resilience.

A recent U.S. Department of Defense report found that, in addition to the threats of physical and cyber security attacks and severe weather events, climate change may present a growing threat that can increase the frequency of damage to grid assets and leave our nation vulnerable over time.

Other factors compounding these evolving threats is our dependence on foreign suppliers as well as our aging grid infrastructure.  For example, extra high voltage (EHV) transformers, critical elements of the transmission infrastructure, are often sourced from abroad and the existing fleet of assets are aging faster than they’re being replaced. And even more will be needed in the coming years as the transmission system expands to integrate new renewable energy generation. 

Securing a more certain future for the electric grid

Utilities need to find the right balance to achieve resilience at optimum cost. To do so they need to mitigate their risk. With regard to the threat of widespread damage to assets at multiple locations, this requires them to analyze their risks and develop an executable and effective plan to address them.  Such plans must ensure the certainty of immediate access and delivery of replacement equipment.     

Among the alternative spare equipment programs available, most are designed only to partially meet the evolving requirements for fast, flexible, and certain grid restoration.

The EEI Spare Transformer Equipment Program (STEP) is a valuable form of mutual assistance among Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) that, provides a process for acquiring an asset from another utility but only in the event of a terrorist attack. Moreover, STEP requires a presidential decree, which to date, has yet to be enacted.  Each participating utility is required to make a limited number of assets (often only one) available in such event.        

The EEI SPAREConnect program provides an additional complementary mechanism for IOU Bulk Power System asset owners and operators to network with other SPAREConnect participants for the possible sharing of transmission and generation step-up transformers and other equipment. However, SpareConnect does not create or manage a central database of spare equipment.  Consequently, a utility in need has no certainty whether what they need exists, and if it does, who has it, where is it, or its condition, age or availability.   The company in need owns the responsibility to reach out to other participants, but there is no obligation for potential donor companies to provide an asset.

The North American Transmission Forum’s (NATF) Regional Equipment Sharing for Transmission Outage Restoration (RESTORE) Program is also a form of mutual assistance, designed to enhance resiliency and reliability of the energy grid by identifying sources and facilitating replacement of equipment from among the available spares at the participating companies following disaster events. This optional, self-funding program is available to NATF members for a minimal additional cost. When a participant makes their need known, a committee presides over which other participant(s) will provide spare assets to meet the need. But again, the specific availability, quantity, quality, condition and warranty of the equipment is not guaranteed.

Grid restoration requires secure and fast access to critical transmission equipment

 

Restoring the grid after natural or man-made events affecting multiple grid facilities at once can be a matter of life and death. Prolonged outages impact the most vulnerable in our society more than other populations and can lead to loss of jobs, health problems and even death.

 

 

Speedy restoration is critical. But extra high voltage transformers and other critical transmission equipment have extremely long lead-times for procurement.  This equipment is also difficult to transport, requiring even more time to deliver or relocate to where it is needed. 

When an EHV transformer wears out or is damaged by external forces the process of replacing it with another can be lengthy.  Due to redundancy of design, a single transmission transformer outage will rarely cause customer outages. However, a more extreme event that damages multiple transformers at several locations can disrupt businesses and communities that rely on the grid for long periods of time.  These extreme events are rare but as mentioned earlier, the threat of such events has risen.

It is estimated that it can take anywhere between 12 and 30 months to acquire a new EHV transformer and growing supply chain and materials issues are extending this replacement time even further.  The U.S. imports 85% of its EHV transformers and there is competition with other nations for limited production and raw materials such as special grade electrical steel. These transformers’ hefty price tag can range from $2.5 to $10 million dollars (including transportation and installation). Finally, the transformers are typically custom built, with long lead-times to design, bid, manufacture and deliver; with components dependent on foreign production and supply chains.

Grid resilience—a gap in planning for equipment replacement

As EHV transformers have become more critical, their value has increased. And lead times have increased in obtaining these assets. 

It is important for investor owned utilities and other transmission owning companies to have access to spare equipment regardless of how a transformer or other critical piece of transmission equipment may fail or be damaged.

Utilities’ self-supplying their backup equipment generally maintain some number of spares on the system.  The number is generally determined based upon operational failure rates and generally does not take into account widespread, concurrent multi-facility failures due to extreme events.  The spares on hand also are typically stored or co-located at the site of one of the operating transformers to minimize transportation time. 

However, for extreme events such as physical attacks, severe weather, or other natural disasters, these co-located spares would likely be damaged along with the operating transformer, so the spare become useless.  Even if a utility should be so fortunate to hold enough undamaged operational spares to replace what has been destroyed, replenishing their stock of spares will require procurement times of typically 12-18 months but may now require up to 30 months.  In today’s supply chain environment, these longer lead-times can be expected.   

Subscribing to an industry-led solution that includes a secure, dedicated domestic inventory of pooled equipment, stored remote from the operating sites can deliver the right balance of maximizing certainty and speed at an optimum cost. 

Grid Assurance is the industry’s only grid restoration solution with a fully functional, securely stored, warranted and maintained reserve of critical equipment combined with pre-approved delivery logistics plans to help transmission companies get the power back on quickly and efficiently.  Subscribers have rights to immediate access their subscribed number of spares without restrictions, delays, or contingent upon approval of a committee or a presidential decree.  They also have advance knowledge and certainty of the specific performance and physical characteristics of the exact equipment they will receive.  Their subscription allows them to purchase the transformers at the original equipment price (known) and with a manufacturer’s warranty transferable to them at the time of sale. Participating in other industry programs may add value as additional back-up resources, and their limitations are overcome by subscribing to the Grid Assurance model.  

 

Utilities need an all threats solution that restores power faster and helps to protect reputational risks.  They need access to a certain, secure, domestic inventory of critical transmission that is ready for deployment at a moment’s notice.

[CleverNickname 1310]

A few tens of billions for a strategic reserve (of EHV transformers) is a no brainer.

[Updawg 2266]

Delete post


*I didn’t read the above article

[YGIFS 19450]

You don't understand why we aren't stockpiling?  Probably because you ain't praying the hell outta that prayer, sinner!  Pray dammit, pray harder!  

[Updawg 2266]

I’ve been amazed that we have recovered from ice storms and hurricanes as quickly as we do. It’s just a matter of time before we don’t

[Born to Run 6569]

Lots of felonies alone for deliberately shooting very expensive equipment, lots of damages in general (spoiled food, drugs, repairs, etc.) and that’s before the terrorism stuff kicks in.
This wasn’t some little act of vandalism like plinking away at a sign on a gate with a .22.  The feds have specific laws about energy facilities.
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1366&num=0&edition=prelim
If even just one person dies as a result and it can be proven, such as medical equipment stopping, somebody freezing, then it’s life in prison.

This is yet another reason why our justice system needs modernization. The entire timeline needs to be radically shortened. These cases which will breed copycat attacks need to move to the front of that spee line line with quick punishment.

Yes I know justice moves slow, lawyers need adequate time for prep etc, but with technology the procedural shit can and should move faster.

[Born to Run 6569]

That was pretty weird.  As I recall, they thought it was sniper(s) based on the caliber and that no cameras picked up anybody within several hundred yards of the transformers.  Didn't realize they never caught anybody.  And it was supposedly a group of snipers operating in concert.  

Some of the most heinous fucking crimes go completely un-punished in this country.  Law enforcement just shrugs it off like, "Hey, what can you do?"  But the most petty crimes can get you a fucking bullet to the back of the head by police for being "mouthy."  

Last paragraph is Very accurate. Some of the more harmful crimes are ignored, but some dude with a small amount of weed gets nailed to the wall. It's absurd.

[atomheartbevo 89668]

1 hour ago, Updawg said:

I’ve been amazed that we have recovered from ice storms and hurricanes as quickly as we do. It’s just a matter of time before we don’t

Just imagine that instead of Austin losing water last year for a chunk of the week during The Big Fucking Freeze when it was in single digits, it was instead power.  Whole shitload of people were ill-prepared to do things as simple as storing snow and ice in your bathtub and melting it to flush your toilets.

[Brisketexan 105139]

Just imagine that instead of Austin losing water last year for a chunk of the week during The Big Fucking Freeze when it was in single digits, it was instead power.  Whole shitload of people were ill-prepared to do things as simple as storing snow and ice in your bathtub and melting it to flush your toilets.

Ummmm…..

[mchookem 16336]

[High Plains Drifter 11049]

 

who is going to tell him?

 

 

[YGIFS 19450]

I'm afraid if I do, I'm gonna have my water shut off.  City of Austin Water is just due, I can fucking feel it in my bones.  

[atomheartbevo 89668]

20 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I'm afraid if I do, I'm gonna have my water shut off.  City of Austin Water is just due, I can fucking feel it in my bones.  

Austin Energy feels like it’s more due,  City of Austin probably trained a few people how to flip the right 50 year-old switch to keep the water flowing,

The large numbers of people outside of Austin who lost power last year, at least a decent amount of them obviously had the common sense to enable them to survive,

People in Austin?  I knew people who, when we lost water, didn’t have a clue as to what neighbor’s yard they were going to shit in if they couldn’t flush the toilet (and probably more than a few were thinking they’d shit in their own fucking yard).  Be the same if the power went out for the whole city - all those fridges and freezers full of stuff going bad, and most don’t have a clue as to which neighbor’s yard or which nearby commercial dumpsters to dump their rotting stuff.  This city is helpless as fuck if things go completely south.

[atomheartbevo 89668]

 

[atomheartbevo 89668]

May have been posted, but basically gets into planning 

https://bob-mayer.medium.com/when-evaluating-a-target-such-as-a-power-grid-we-used-the-carver-formula-in-special-forces-cc73b080ea9b

 

[YGIFS 19450]

^

Dammit, man.  I appreciate your insight on issues of military, defense, foreign policy, etc.  My uncle (U.S. Army, AirCav) worked with the CARVER group in Vietnam (1964-1968).  But when we let on that these fucking domestic terrorists (sorry folks, that's who they are...fuck you for being so goddamn sensitive to the label) are operating like Green Berets...that just makes them swell up with pride and is an easy recruiting tool.  

Obviously these guys are very much a step up in intelligence and tactical prowess from the Gravy Seals who I see at the Capitol in their tac gear and semi-auto rifles.  But they're shit.  We need to start public executions of these fuckers and when somebody rises up in their place, shoot them too.  Tip-toeing around who these people really are, and the reality of the fact that we know some of them in real life is getting fucking exhausting.  Am I the only one tired of pretending that people like this are "Our Fellow Americans"?    

Deal with the reality of the Stupid and the world will applaud us.  To treat them as mythical soldiers and the world will have justified contempt for us.  To allow them to exist without calling them by name will be their victory, not ours.  They'll disappear soon enough and we will have acted by the law.  A Stupid Free America.  Imagine it.  (conspiracy).

[DDD Dad 14339]

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

May have been posted, but basically gets into planning 

https://bob-mayer.medium.com/when-evaluating-a-target-such-as-a-power-grid-we-used-the-carver-formula-in-special-forces-cc73b080ea9b

 

IIRC that Instagram christofascist woman's husband is SF (at least I think she said so or implied as much in one of her posts).

[RDCanecutter 26443]

On 12/6/2022 at 9:17 AM, atomheartbevo said:

I’m going to ignore what the sheriff says and wait for the FBI briefings, because I’m willing to bet that they aren’t praying with the people hinting that they know what happened.

As a once-fluent speaker of Authentic North Carolina Law Enforcement Frontier Gibberish, I took the "had a word of prayer with her" less as talking with God, and more on the lines of "Bless her heart" or "Come to Jesus moment," ie maybe read the riot act and add some frank talk about the consequences of being a little too cute on Facebook. I partially base this on the fact that she is not (yet) chunky enough to appeal to a North Carolina Sheriff.

[Bevo 13577]

15 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Just imagine that instead of Austin losing water last year for a chunk of the week during The Big Fucking Freeze when it was in single digits, it was instead power.  Whole shitload of people were ill-prepared to do things as simple as storing snow and ice in your bathtub and melting it to flush your toilets.

Why wouldn't you fill up the bathtub with water from the sink to flush your toilet?

[YGIFS 19450]

2 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Why wouldn't you fill up the bathtub with water from the sink to flush your toilet?

Didn't you read what he said, man?  The sink was already full of poop.  

[InkaUtexas 25940]

Just now, YGIFS said:

Didn't you read what he said, man?  The sink was already full of poop.  

that is why you shit in your neighbors sink. 

[YGIFS 19450]

1 minute ago, InkaUtexas said:

that is why you shit in your neighbors sink. 

What's the old saying, don't shit where you brush...and you sure as hell don't shit where I brush.  

What a fucking insane 30 days that was.  Seems like a dream.  Covid burning through Texas because a year later most folks still didn't take it seriously, American "Patriots" usurping their own government at its Seat, my house below 40 degrees with two small children, waiting in line for hours for supplies at a store with no electricity because of our 'Texas Energy Independence', only to return home on the puttering fumes of an empty gas tank, to collect enough snow to shit on top of in my overly-taxed valuable homestead because Austin Water is fucking stupid. 

And to think Al Qaeda and a Mister Ronan Sinatra were behind it all.  

[atomheartbevo 89668]

2 hours ago, Bevo said:

Why wouldn't you fill up the bathtub with water from the sink to flush your toilet?

Because we had no running water….

[SubliminalHorn 6788]

That’s why I filled up both my bathtubs as soon as power went out. Living on Guam and dealing with that shit every time a typhoon came near the island had me ready for water to go out

[InkaUtexas 25940]

1 hour ago, SubliminalHorn said:

That’s why I filled up both my bathtubs as soon as power went out. Living on Guam and dealing with that shit every time a typhoon came near the island had me ready for water to go out

It does not hurt to invest in a WaterBob. Inexpensive. 

https://www.amazon.com/WaterBOB-Emergency-Container-Drinking-Hurricane/dp/B001AXLUX2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=waterbob+bathtub+water+storage+100+gallon&qid=1670518724&sprefix=Waterbob%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-1

And if you have a water heater it is another source. 

[Captainant 27668]

2 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

And if you have a water heater it is another source. 

unless you've flushed your water heater recently, that's gonna be some haaaaaaaaard water coming out of there

[InkaUtexas 25940]

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

unless you've flushed your water heater recently, that's gonna be some haaaaaaaaard water coming out of there

Yep. But that is where life straws come in. Or toilet water. 

[Captainant 27668]

They've got warrants out for the terrorists now

https://myfox8.com/news/investigations/power-grid-attack/search-warrants-obtained-in-moore-county-in-connection-to-substation-attacks/

They're under seal, but multiple state and federal agencies are involved

[YGIFS 19450]

Seems weird that federal agencies would be involved in issuing warrants for gotdamn patriots.  Isn't the job of the Feds to protect those that protect America from those who would seek to destroy our culture, customs, and way of life?  I will sit here and listen to you people badmouth the United States of America!  Gentlemen!  

[atomheartbevo 89668]

20 minutes ago, Captainant said:

They've got warrants out for the terrorists now

https://myfox8.com/news/investigations/power-grid-attack/search-warrants-obtained-in-moore-county-in-connection-to-substation-attacks/

They're under seal, but multiple state and federal agencies are involved

Given all of the electronic devices around us these days, I'd wager that they pulled all of the cell phone tower logs of phones in that vicinity (aided by the feds), not to mention hit up all of the homes in the area that had doorbell cameras and started narrowing things down pretty fast.

[crash_davis 23113]

8 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Given all of the electronic devices around us these days, I'd wager that they pulled all of the cell phone tower logs of phones in that vicinity (aided by the feds), not to mention hit up all of the homes in the area that had doorbell cameras and started narrowing things down pretty fast.

that and the dumb bitch who told the world she knows why the lights went out

[0xdeadbeef 1651]

34 minutes ago, Captainant said:

They've got warrants out for the terrorists now

https://myfox8.com/news/investigations/power-grid-attack/search-warrants-obtained-in-moore-county-in-connection-to-substation-attacks/

They're under seal, but multiple state and federal agencies are involved

Not getting my hopes up for nailing these assholes based on a Sealed Search Warrants from the local deputies.  Maybe LEO is really hot on their trail, or maybe they got a search warrant based on some stupid shit just to show they're doing something.  It could be as stupid as a CI told them there are guns in a house. 

Question for surly legal types:  Do cops have to show a copy of a sealed search warrant to the homeowner?  A quick google search doesn't turn up the answer. Can the homeowner talk about it, or does a sealed search warrant come with some type of gag order built-in?

 

 

 

 

  

[JMFP 1120]

Just got this email from my chief:

 

[freyguy 4272]

22 hours ago, JMFP said:

Just got this email from my chief:

 

The letters are coming from inside the plant!!!

[crash_davis 23113]

Idiot pleads guilty to plan to attack substations in Baltimore area.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/maryland-woman-pleads-guilty-baltimore-power-stations-plot/story?id=110215143

A Maryland woman accused of plotting to carry out attacks on multiple energy substations surrounding Baltimore pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal conspiracy and firearms charges, court records show.

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, was charged last year with conspiring with a Florida-based founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen to carry out the attacks, in what prosecutors described as a racism-fueled plot to spark mass chaos in the majority-Black city.

She initially pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to damage an energy facility. She was subsequently also charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty to both charges in federal court on Tuesday.

"If we can pull off what I'm hoping ... this would be legendary," Clendaniel was quoted in charging documents telling a federal informant about her plot with Brandon Russell to target five substations around Baltimore.

She was further quoted telling an FBI confidential source she was "determined" to carry out the attacks, adding, "It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste" if they were successful.

According to plea documents, Clendaniel agreed that if she were to carry out the attacks the total costs of repairs to the energy facilities would have exceeded $100,000.

The guilty plea paves the way for Clendaniel to now provide cooperation with federal authorities against Russell -- who was incarcerated when the two first met, stemming from a 2018 conviction related to his possession of an unregistered destructive device.

The pair crafted their plot to shoot up the five substations while both were out on probation, when Russell began communicating with a confidential FBI source in 2022 about his hopes of attacking critical infrastructure sites, according to charging documents.

Russell allegedly told the informant that "putting holes in transformers ... is the greatest thing somebody can do," and told the informant they should carry out an attack "when there is greatest strain on the grid" to incur mass disruption. Russell further told the informant of Clendaniel and his alleged coordination with her to attack an energy facility and offered to connect the two to coordinate their attacks in order to "maximize impact."

Upon meeting the informant, Clendaniel told them in early 2023 that she expected she would die of a terminal illness in a few months and was hoping to obtain a rifle as soon as possible in order to attack five substations she had singled out around Baltimore -- all on the same day.

"[Clendaniel] described how there was a 'ring' around Baltimore and if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they 'would completely destroy this whole city,'" the affidavit stated.

Prosecutors agreed they would not recommend Clendaniel serve a sentence over 18 years in connection with her plea agreement, according to court documents, though the judge overseeing her case will ultimately determine the length of her prison term.

Russell has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge in the case and is set to stand trial in July.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

I understand that dumb people do dumb things.   The thing I don't understand is how anyone has the energy for shit like this, no matter how dumb they are.  I'm too fucking tired to be passionate about a cause, whether noble, evil, or otherwise.  

 

I'm off for a sandwich and a nap.

Edited May 14 by Samson's Wig

[crash_davis 23113]

3 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I understand that dumb people do dumb things.   The thing I don't understand is how anyone has the energy for shit like this, no matter how dumb they are.  I'm too fucking tired to be passionate about a cause, whether noble, evil, or otherwise.  

 

I'm off for a sandwich and a nap.

Racism, patriotism, religious idolatry, people being too stupid for their own good...don't need a whole lot these days to encourage misguided convictions.

[Pato del Muerto 52498]

1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

Upon meeting the informant, Clendaniel told them in early 2023 that she expected she would die of a terminal illness in a few months and was hoping to obtain a rifle as soon as possible in order to attack five substations she had singled out around Baltimore -- all on the same day

So was the terminal illness thing bullshit?  To what end?

[atomheartbevo 89668]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

I understand that dumb people do dumb things.   The thing I don't understand is how anyone has the energy for shit like this, no matter how dumb they are.  I'm too fucking tired to be passionate about a cause, whether noble, evil, or otherwise.  

I'm off for a sandwich and a nap.

[F250 28775]

2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

 

[ultimaton 2981]

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So was the terminal illness thing bullshit?  To what end?

let's assume it was self-diagnosed terminal 5g poisoning from exposure to shed vaccine proteins

Edited May 14 by ultimaton

[B00M 6416]

odd looking rifle. I initially assuming PSA, maybe a JAKL… but no… I will assume bear creek with a temu eotech until someone confirms otherwise.