SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A targeted attack on electrical substations in North Carolina left more than 100,000 without power this weekend.

The attack took place Saturday night in North Carolina’s Moore county. Police there say that multiple substations had been shot at in a targeted attack, leaving around 35,000 homes still without power as of Monday morning.

The county had declared a state of emergency and closed county schools on Monday.

With such a drastic impact from the attack, the question of substation security arises.
22news reached out to Priscilla Ress, spokesperson for Eversource of Western Massachusetts, to learn what security measures are in place to protect grids here in Massachusetts.

Ress stated in an email, “Providing safe, reliable service to our customers is our top priority, and the security of the grid is critical to those efforts. We’re constantly in close contact with industry peers, government officials, law enforcement and other public safety leaders evaluating and following best practices to manage our risk of an attack. Attacks, both physical and otherwise, targeting the grid have been an increasing threat here and across the globe and we take that very seriously.  We continue to share intelligence with our industry partners and public safety officials as we constantly prepare to respond to incidents that could affect our ability to provide our customers with safe and reliable energy.”

The Moore County attack is likely to leave homes in the dark up until Thursday. Local and state authorities are still investigating.