More than 33,000 North Carolina power customers were left in the dark and under a curfew Monday, two days after two power substations were blown up. “targeted attack.”
Schools in Moore County were also closed Monday as residents of the village 90 miles east of Charlotte woke up to below-freezing temperatures.
Power officials said a decision would be made on Monday evening about whether they could reopen, as outages were expected to last until Thursday.
Law enforcement agencies have not identified a suspect or motive in the shootings at the respective substations. Duke Energy Corp.
“Neither group has stepped forward to admit or accept that they did this, so I call them cowards,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a news conference Sunday.
After the Moore County Sheriff said vandalism caused a massive power outage in Carthage, North Carolina, Duke Energy workers said a shooting killed a power substation, oil containment barriers near a damaged transformer installed.
Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a substation that was hit by gunfire.
More than 45,000 customers were initially affected by the “targeted attack.”
A state of emergency was imposed in the county and residents were under a 9 p.m. curfew.
This photo shows the gate being destroyed at the Duke Energy West End Substation in Moore County.
“The person who did this was targeted, not random,” he added, putting cold water on unsubstantiated rumors that the incident was linked to the Southern Pines show that attracted the protesters. according to Pilot.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said he has been in contact with Duke about a “serious” incident and is investigating the mysterious attack, in which gates of federal offices were broken and equipment damaged by gunfire, as a domestic terrorist attack, officials said.
“The FBI is investigating the intentional damage to electrical facilities in Charlotte Moore County. “We are in regular contact with local law enforcement agencies and private sector partners,” the feds said.
A an emergency A curfew remained in effect in the county on Monday at 9 p.m. Residents were also told to conserve fuel as officials opened shelters with bathrooms and showers.
“The person or persons who did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Fields said. “We have no idea why.”
Replacing electrical equipment can cost millions of dollars, officials said.
“Equipment will have to be replaced,” said Jeff Brooks, Duke Energy’s general manager of communications.
“We are looking at several ways to restore customers so that we can restore customers as soon as possible. Recognizing this, we are looking at a very complex repair with very large equipment.
With post wires