Attacks on Moore County's power grid prompt security cameras, patrols and better equipment
Authorities have still yet to make an arrest since the December 2022 attacks at two Moore County substations that left tens of thousands of people without power for several days.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, and federal lawmakers held a field hearing at Pinehurst Village Hall to discuss protecting the nation’s electric grid. The lawmakers toured one of the Moore County sites that got attacked.
“To the folks who perpetrated this, you did not get away with this,” Hudson said. “We are coming for you, and we’re going to find you, and we’re going to hold you accountable.”
Hudson expressed his concern about the possibility of similar attacks across the country.
“I’ll continue to push the FBI to make these attacks a priority and to make sure that the appropriate information sharing occurs, and the cooperation with our local law enforcement, so that those responsible can be held accountable,” Hudson said.
On Friday, the FBI Charlotte provided WRAL News with the following statement.
""FBI agents and task force officers responded to the scene in Moore County within hours of the electrical substation shootings to support the Sheriff's Office and Duke Energy," an FBI spokesperson wrote. "Since that attack, we have conducted hundreds of interviews, followed numerous leads, and processed all available evidence at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.
"FBI special agents, task force officers, intelligence analysts, and other professional staff employees remain actively assigned to investigate this case. The FBI continues to offer a reward up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for shooting at the two electrical substations. Call 1-800- CALL FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov."
Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee joined Hudson, including Reps. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina; Morgan Griffith, R-Virginia; Gary Palmer, R-Alabama; Rick Allen, R-Georgia; Larry Bucshon, R-Indiana; Randy Weber, R-Texas; Bob Latta, R-Ohio and Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona.
“The challenge of protecting [power grids] is immense, and it’s growing,” said Duncan, who serves as the committee’s chair.
Citing the Energy Information Administration, Duncan said the U.S. has more than 7,300 power plants, 160,000 miles of high-voltage powerlines, millions of miles of low-voltage powerlines and more than 50,000 substations where transformers convert raw electricity to higher or lower voltage.
“I share the community’s frustration that we still haven’t found those responsible,” Hudson said.
Area leaders said Friday they are working to harden critical infrastructure, installing more cameras, adding security and working to replace important equipment faster.
More than 45,000 people and businesses were without power from Dec. 3-Dec. 7.
“In the aftermath of this attack, our hospital was impacted, threatening medical treatments, schools were shut down, businesses were affected, stoplights went dark, gas stations were closed, cell signal was impacted, water couldn’t’ be heated, our region suffered millions of dollars in damage and right before [the] Christmas holiday,” Hudson said. “It really made the hundreds of pounds of deer meat that I lost in my freezer seem pretty insignificant.”
Law enforcement has yet to identify who might be behind the Moore County attacks.
“An attack like this could have devastated our community and we didn’t go without our struggles, but overall, I am so proud of the resilient response of the people of Moore County in the days and weeks that followed these attacks,” Hudson said. “The people here truly showed the best of Moore County, the best of North Carolina and the best of our nation.”
Moore County is among several substation attacks over the years across the U.S.:
- In January, two men were charged in connection with attacks on four power substations on Christmas Day in Washington state.
Authorities have still yet to make an arrest in the April 16, 2013, attack on a California substation.
Earlier this week, a new bill passed in the legislature of North Carolina increased penalties for power grid attacks, bringing five years in prison for anyone convicted.
