Attacks on power stations have dramatically increased across the U.S. in recent years, with more than 100 such incidents reported in 2022.
Now the FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for physical attacks last November on electrical substations in Tumwater, Wash., and Oregon City.
At the Oregon City substation, two unknown people “cut into the fence and used firearms to shoot up and disable numerous pieces of equipment,” according to a Bonneville Power Administration security memo sent to law enforcement after the incident.
John Lahti, BPA’s transmission vice president of field services, said the damage would “cost Northwest ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The attack on the Oregon City substation remains unsolved.
In a statement released Thursday, Kieran L. Ramsey, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland field office, highlighted the potentially devastating impact of such attacks.
“Entire communities — hospitals, schools and local businesses — might conceivably be incapacitated for many days,” he said.
Political extremism is believed to be the basis of some of the power-station attacks across the U.S., but Ramsey noted that the motives of those responsible for the vandalism of the Tumwater and Oregon City substations are not known.
In January, two Puyallup, Wash., men were charged in federal court with conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm related to attacks on four Pierce County substations.
The FBI asks anyone who might have information about the Tumwater and Oregon City attacks to call 1-800-225-5324 or go to tips.fbi.gov.
— The Oregonian/OregonLive; dperry@oregonian.com
