Bureau of Sabotage
Experts: Sniper Attack on PG&E Site Points to Power Grid’s Vulnerability
The attack at the electricity transmission substation — located next to the Metcalf power plant — happened shortly before 2 a.m. on April 16 last year, when one or more individuals took up positions along Coyote Ranch Road and “began shooting rounds at the equipment, according to a California Public Utilities Commission report. … they blasted 17 transformers and 6 circuit breakers, and caused $15.4 million in damage
The attackers severed six AT&T fiber optic telecommunication lines in an underground vault, which was covered by a metal lid that was so heavy it would have taken at least two people to lift it, according to sources quoted by The Wall Street Journal. Besides more than 100 fingerprint-free shell casings littering the area, Wellinghoff said his military experts spotted small rock piles by the plant which the attackers might have placed there earlier to mark prime firing positions.