Grid Vulnerabilities

OilPrice.com: "Attacks on the U.S. power grid are surging" Apparently a confidential analysis of the electric industry, reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, reports attacks on the U.S. power grid rose 71% in 2022. The Department of Homeland Security warns the grid is a particularly attractive target, + that this threat will be ongoing. Attacks involving intrusion, vandalism or gunfire are more + more problematic, with notable attacks in the Southeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest. The intention is apparently societal disruption. "In one of the most notorious recent attacks, a North Carolina power grid was vandalized in December, leaving some 45,000 people in Moore County without power after two substations of Duke Energy were attacked by gunfire." The perpetrators have not been identified + the motive remains unclear. Another attack was carried out earlier this month, after which "federal authorities arrested and charged a neo-Nazi man and a woman from Maryland for plotting to attack Baltimore-area electrical substations." The motive in this event was reportedly racist, as Brandon Clint Russell, 27, and Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, characterized Baltimore as predominantly Black + hoped to spark racial strife. Establishing microgrids which are 'islandable' + can be independent of the larger grid during an outage will enhance resilience for all of us. Having home + business energy storage with batteries will likewise make all of us more secure against these sorts of attacks. Photo credit: Sturmovik at en.wikipedia     #electricgrid    #sabotage