The Harlow Report-GIS
2023 Edition
ISSN 0742-468X
Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
first published week of: 01/30/2023
State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks
by Hannah Schoenbaum
Lawmakers in at least two states that have seen recent attacks to electrical infrastructure are proposing new legislation to improve security around substations and increase the penalties for damaging utility equipment
When gunshots at two electrical substations cut power to thousands of central North Carolina homes for several days in early December, Republican state Rep. Ben Moss watched his vibrant district full of family farms, small businesses and sprawling golf courses become “a ghost town.”
After the latest attack last week on a substation in Randolph County, northeast of Charlotte, Moss is urging fellow lawmakers to prioritize new legislation that would secure the state's critical infrastructure when the legislative session begins in earnest this week. He's among the first state legislators to propose power grid protections this year amid a surge in attacks on U.S. substations, primarily in the Carolinas and Pacific Northwest.
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