The Big Threat - Be Prepared
 

One of the biggest threats from terrorist is a coordinated attack on our power grid - all it would take is such an attack knock out certain critical substations that handle the 500 and 750 KV transmission lines - this would blacken a good part of the country - I read where someone did shoot out a substation in California - and if the transformers are damaged - replacement transformers would not be ready for a very long time - so what do you need to do? - prepare yourself for such an event - you need enough food, water, shelter and heat if in the winter time - don't think for one moment that this can't happen - in the meantime the power companies need to guard these substations from anything like this happening - with a good portion of the power grid down for a long time - the country would come to a stand still -

I'm all set, because I believe it is inevitable, and most people have their heads buried in the sand.

Expect a rate increase.

Prepare, I already did that.:coffee:

I think it is not a good idea to be suggesting this as a possibility. There is nothing anyone on a citizen level can do to prevent it, nothing in particular that is different on a citizen level than any extended power failure, and all bringing it up is doing is inflating the idea in the minds of those who would try it. There are a number of scenarios that are best left unsaid and unadvertised. Consider back a few years to the number of school shootings there used to be. There was the Texas shooting from the campus tower, then nothing for years. Once Columbine got the play in the news, the number of copycat shootings and attempts have increased.

The power plants have guards (buddy was one...had an MP5 as his tool)...it's the sub stations that seem extremely vulnerable. One about 3 miles up the road you can almost walk up to...chain link fence and a no name pad lock. No human presence.

Matt

Harry, if it were isolated individuals - yes, but these attacks would be coordinated by some very savvy people who most likely have already pinpointed their targets.

The reason the California incident wasn't widely reported was to keep from startling the populace, not to quash terrorists thinking.

There has been enough islamic paraphernalia found on our southern border to pretty well ensure we've got sleepers amongst us. We just don't have their timetable, but this incident would make it appear they're getting close.

The alarming thing is with all of the NSA domestic spying, that much time has passed and no one's been caught. By now the FBI should have been able to investigate previous employees and others with a bone to pick with the utility.

If the "media" were to make an issue of this it could promote rampant "spy on your neighbor" hysteria and be quite a mess.

Better to look at it as the next major "storm" which will knock down the grid for 6 months . . . . .so how do I handle that . .?!?!

Things like this need to be brought out because people need to realize that they can't wait until something happens before they get prepared - I'm sure that terrorist groups know all about our power grid and how they can take it down - we need to anticipate what they can do and do something about it before it happens - usually we react after something happens - that is not acceptable - all the major high voltage substations need to be guarded and fences erected that would prevent someone from putting holes in the transformers - all it takes is some bullet holes to drain the oil and next thing the transformer fails - if this happens at several stations at one time - lights out - I'm talking about the major 500 and 750 KV stations that carry power from major generating sources long distances to major loads - and another thing - spare transformer of this size are not readily available - could take months if not longer to put stations back into operation -

"Things like this need to be brought out because people need to realize that they can't wait until something happens before they get prepared..."

History is a teacher. There have always been and will always be people who are not prepared for even a minimal disruption in their lives. They don't "need to realize" because they will refuse to realize and will rationalize their decisions. Additionally, people have a finite attention span and number of concepts that they can juggle. It does a disservice to overload their brains with information that is primarily redundant and with a low likelihood of occurrence.

Hurricane force winds don't just happen in Florida, they happen regularly along the East Coast, but that didn't prevent people in New Jersey from building structures incapable of withstand what was a minor event in the scope of hurricanes. To get those same people to prep against a grid failure is an exercise in head banging against a wall.

The biggest threat to your safety, your freedom, and your property is the government.

I CAN structure my life and living in such a way that I don't need to worry about what happens if the electricity goes off, or if the grocery store sells tainted meat, or if zombies rise from the grave and begin attacking people. Those are non-issues, unless of course you choose to put yourself at the mercy of those things.

What cannot be easily dealt with is the fact that we live under the thumb of a heavily armed government whose entire security and surveillance apparatus is not aimed at terrorists or criminals, but rather at the average citizen.

If fear and/or the threat of coercion are dictating any portion of a man's life, then that man needs to reevaluate his priorities.

Myself included.

but rather at the average citizen.

Why not, even lions and wolfs normally take down the easiest prey.....average law abiding citizens are safer targets..plus they generally have more to confiscate

As has been discussed before, a solar flare could take out the grid. There are websites dedicated to this, official ones no less, I have one or two bookmarked.
One can either try to live self sufficiently, however you define that, or spend time with so many specifics it can drive ya crazy. Sometimes, a general approach is best, covers a lot of bases. For instance, if I make sure I can water my livestock, even if a storm took out power, it is peace of mind.

You don't need a terrorist to take out a substation -- you only need an idiot with a gun. We had that happen many years back and were without full power for a couple weeks. At the time our town still had its old generator but it could not produce enough power for the whole town. So they did a rolling blackout. You had power for a few hours then didn't for a few hours as they shared power around town.

It would be nice to be free of the powers that be, but some of us are old and have health issues so aren't able to take on the level of work necessary to live as Ernie and Forerunner do. We do what we can raising a big garden but even that is a stretch. We live frugally and simply on the grid. Its frightening to realize our home is not sustainable without electricity and natural gas and water from the city, but it is the fact of our life.

You got that right! They have "something to confiscate". The poor slob is only good for free labor or target practice. Never forget that people. I viewed that first hand in some of the third world countries Uncle Sam sent me to visit. Looking at what's happening in our country now, I shouldn't be surprised, it's karma.

Elec
 

Lightning struck a transformer near where I lived. We were without power for days. I'll never forget it; happened in Aug, temp was almost 100 deg.

after reading One Second After- numerous times- my heart aches thinking about people - esp kids who need things like insulin...

God's a terrorist?! JUST KIDDING!


A few things to think about with the California shooting.

1. It happened in the dead of night when it's cool out and not too many people would be affected. If you wanted to cause damage do it in the middle of the day when computers are fired up and people are driving though stoplights.

2. It happened in April. If you wanted to cause damage, do it in extreme temps, not in April. That's the time of year when you really don't need AC or heat to survive.

3. There were over 100 shots fired and 17 pieces of equipment were taken out and yet there wasn't a fire. Anyone who has seen a substation knows that the equipment is nothing more than big metal blocks and yet one curious squirrel can cause a fire. This suggests someone with extensive training, probably military and probably American.

Why American?

Why probably American?

Just curious. Why is it almost a year after the substation in CA attack is hitting the news now? Why is there no reporting of 'possible' attack at Spring City, TN nuclear plant being reported? FBI is involved but no 'main' media is reporting this.
Are there other incidents around the US not being reported?

One way to look at it is with less reporting than there hopefully will be less "copy-catters" . . . .We don't need that one bit.......

Old news. Back in the early or mid 80s I was involved in a thought game in which we 'attacked' the power grid. It showed major problems then and they have only gotten worse.

Ahh, but it is not old news to many! Do you remember the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realized how many falsehoods you believed? At the flip of a switch, the lights turn on. A storm, an emp, a cme, any number of things could alter that. I did not know what a cme, basically a big solar flare, was until a few years ago. EMP either. Never hurts to revisit what may be old topics to some, may be new to others.

big gen ready,pantry full,if it goes to crap-friends have been directed to borrow full propane truk on way here

Maybe an American that wanted to scare the utility companies and powers that be into doing something to secure our grid. A little motivation, maybe.

It would be virtually impossible to protect the grid. Too many miles of wire, too many substations, too many of everything. Heavens, we have acres and acres of wind generation towers stretching across a large expanse in our area. Its just not possible to protect everything or much of anything for that matter. Maybe it might be more feasible in a city, but in rural areas its not.

If I had aspirations and influence sufficient to control the world, I would impress upon the populace the ease and convenience of both, a national power grid, and a world class fiat currency.

If they were fool enough to abandon all other pursuits and practices to enjoy but those two extremely fragile means of enabling life, the rest would be easy.

True FR. Throw in huge mutinational corp. that own the food chains and the pot is close to boiling.

It isn't so much protecting the grid as hardening it against EMP or sun flares. A few spare parts and some divesting of the existing huge networks would also help. Since neither is likely, prepare accordingly.