Moore County Power Station Attack Highlights Infrastructure Vulnerabilities

Thousands of North Carolinians remain without power following the Dec. 4 attack on multiple electrical substations in Moore County, NC. Such infrastructure disruptions can have immediate and devastating results. “This power disruption is an unfortunate reminder that when infrastructure is not secured, the damage can be catastrophic for the surrounding area,” said DRI President and CEO Chloe Demrovsky. “Businesses and communities need to be fully aware of these vulnerabilities so they can better prepare for the impact of a possible failure.” The Moore County attacks are only one of several recent outages that have had dire consequences for their regions. 2021’s outage in Texas during a winter storm drew attention to the threat to infrastructure, the number one disruption to businesses when it goes offline and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $80-188 billion annually. Other recent examples:

• Houston residents were put on a boil water notice after a power failure at a water purification plant
• Over 14,100 homes and businesses were without electricity after winds knocked out power in Jersey Central Power & Light service areas, and
• A power outage at LAX caused elevators to become stuck, trapping travelers and employees.

The Moore County outage is being investigated by the FBI as a possible terror attack, concurring with a Department of Homeland Security bulletin warning of a heightened threat to critical infrastructure posed by domestic violent extremists. However, most outages have mundane causes. Storms and high winds cause damage, but it’s squirrels and other small animals that are responsible for the vast majority of disruptions – thousands each year.