Other Transformer Attacks and Vandalism

Some reports of other attacks:

(1) A July 17, 2013, incident in Alabama, where 250 transformers were drained of their mineral oil. One suspect was arrested.

(2) An August 26, 2013, incident involving shots at a transformer in Florida, that sparked a fire.

(3)  A September 7, 2012, incident in Oklahoma. In that one, there were two shots to a transformer and two shots to a circuit breaker. It caused a power outage for 2,000 people.

(4)  This January 16, 2012, article describes some shots that had damages transformers at different substations.

(5) This October 1990 article describes two break-ins to the same substation near Philadelphia that resulted in power outages.

I'm sure there are many more instances, but I haven't the time to locate them.

Meanwhile, here are a few articles you may find interesting. This Legalectric blog has a map of the California substation with a timeline of what happened.

This article discusses some of the security precautions that power companies have implemented:

In addition to combining its cybersecurity and physical security functions into a single office run by Glitch, the company moved up the timetable for installing updated security equipment at facilities operated by its three electric utilities — RG&E, NYSEG and Central Maine Power Co.

Iberdrola USA now has two security operations centers that monitor 120 locations using 650 employee ID-card readers, 1,000 cameras, and 5,000 alarm points, according to a corporate video shared with the Democrat and Chronicle. The company declined to make the video available publicly for security reasons.

Some cameras capture infrared radiation, or heat, allowing them to see people or objects in the absence of visible light. The imaging equipment also can be set to alert operators if equipment such as a substation transformer begins to overheat, according to the video.

Video camera imagery also is run through analytic software that detects unusual movements — a person walking along a substation fence, say, or a car stopped at the back wall of a building — then zooms in, tracks the movement and sends an alert to the security center. Glitch called Iberdrola's "an innovative, multilayered system," and Hucko said it's already proved its worth.

"Since we've installed these advanced systems, we've detected and prevented more than 300 incidents in New York alone," he said. "Our systems look out beyond the fence, and will detect intruders before they get to the property. ..."

 The article makes clear that these other "incidents" were straight up incidents of vandalism or attempted copper theft.

And, for those interested, a design guide for rural substations (pdf) and a Congressional Research Service report into vulnerabilities of our electrical utility infrastructure (pdf). I haven't had time to look through them, but I assume that they make dry reading.