'Knew Exactly What They Were Doing': Nearly 40,000 in North Carolina Still Stuck Without Power After 'Deliberate' Attack of 'Vandalism' on Electric Grid A state of emergency was declared following the mass outages that began over the weekend.
By Emily Rella
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A state of emergency has been declared in Moore County, North Carolina after assailants took out two major power grids in the state, leaving nearly 45,000 residents without power.
The attack, which took place over the weekend, seemed to be caused by firearms that shot and took out two major substations in the area in what law enforcement is calling a "deliberate" and "targeted" attack of "intentional vandalism."
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper took to social media to acknowledge the outages Sunday morning.
I have spoken with Duke Energy and state law enforcement officials about the power outages in Moore County. They are investigating and working to return electricity to those impacted. The state is providing support as needed. - RC
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) December 4, 2022
Authorities report that though they are not yet sure what the motive might have been, they are certain that the attacker (or attackers) knew "exactly what they were doing," according to commentary from More County, North Carolina Sherriff Ronnie Fields.
"It was a gate, and they went through the gate, got at the substation, and shot it as well," Fields said in a press conference. "It wasn't random."
Per the state of emergency rules, residents will be placed on a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. until the order is lifted.
Duke Energy said that nearly 7,000 customers had received power back as of Monday, noting that the total number of customers without power is still around 38,000.
The company encouraged residents to turn off appliances and devices that might have been left on before the power was cut to avoid an "immediate surge on the system" when the power is restored but acknowledged that it could be a while before power is restored and people may need to seek "alternative locations" to live.
"We are restoring customers where possible, but the damage is beyond repair in some areas. That leaves us with no option but to replace large pieces of equipment – which is not an easy or quick task," Duke Energy's general manager of emergency preparedness, Jason Hollifield, said in a release. "The company continues to work with local, state and federal agencies on their ongoing investigation into this incident."
Outages for most are expected to continue into Thursday as police continue to investigate the incident.
