Power substation attack leaves Moore County, NC in the dark. Here’s what we know
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Moore County Power Outages
Thousands of people in Moore County, NC lost power for days in December 2022 after electrical substations were attacked. Here is the latest coverage from The News & Observer.
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UPDATE: For the latest on Wednesday, Dec. 7, please visit this story.
Widespread power outages caused by vandalism of electrical substations in Moore County continued on Monday, with electricity shut off to thousands of residences and businesses, and estimates for restoration of power stretching possibly into Thursday, officials say.
The outages are the result of intentional damage by firearms to two substations in the county, according to Moore County and Duke Energy officials.
On Sunday, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields called the perpetrators “cowards” and announced a Sunday curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. that will stay in effect for the duration of a countywide state of emergency proclamation. The state of emergency went into effect at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they’re the ones who’ve done it, so I call them cowards,” Fields said.
Fields said that all available local law enforcement officers are working on the case, assisted by State Bureau of Investigation and FBI agents.
In addition to the curfew, Moore County schools were closed on Monday and will be closed Tuesday, according to the district.
Here’s what we know so far.
How did Moore County lose power?
Power outages began shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday and then spread throughout central and southern Moore County, Fields said at Sunday’s press conference.
The first substation went offline between 7 and 8 p.m. Saturday night, with a second substation following, confirmed Jeff Brooks, a spokesman for Duke Energy.
Duke Energy provides power to nearly the entire county. About 45,000 customers were affected.
When crews responded, Brooks said they found “intentional impact on the substation, damaging multiple pieces of equipment in the substation.”
Fields confirmed that the damage was caused by a firearm. State and local law enforcement were called in to provide security at substations overnight, he said.
Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter Sunday that he had spoken with Duke and state law enforcement officials about the outages.
“They are investigating and working to return electricity to those impacted. The state is providing support as needed,” he tweeted.
How many people in Moore County are without power?
As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, 32,307 homes and businesses remained without power, according to the Duke Energy power outage map.
- More than 6,000 customers were without power in the Pinehurst/Taylortown area.
- More than 5,000 were without power in the Aberdeen area.
- More than 8,000 were without power in the Southern Pines area/Manly
- More than 4,000 were without power in the Whispering Pines
Duke crews have been able to repair some of the damaged equipment and get power flowing back through some local lines from the substations, said company spokesman Jeff Brooks. The company was able to restore power to about 7,000 customers late Sunday, Brooks said.
How long will repairs take?
Duke has all of the equipment it needs to fully restore the substations, Brooks said. But getting some of the larger pieces to Moore County, installed and functioning, will take days.
Brooks said there might be ways to partially restore some customers through temporary technologies.
”We’re hopeful we can find some solutions that may help us find some partial restorations, but we can’t promise that,” he said.
But in many cases, Duke Energy equipment will have to be replaced, Brooks said Sunday, and that’s what will take the longest.
The company is “pursuing multiple paths of restoration” to restore as many customers as quickly as possible.
”We’re looking at a pretty sophisticated repair with some pretty large equipment, so we do want citizens to be prepared that this will be a multi-day restoration for most customers extending potentially as long as Thursday,” he said.
What were the outage’s effects?
Mike Cameron, Southern Pines’ assistant town manager and fire chief, said the power outage caused several accidents, including a four-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Morganton Road and U.S. 15-501 in Southern Pines that sent four people to the hospital with minor injuries.
“The car wreck was totally because the stop lights were out,” he said, adding that the NCDOT has since been putting up temporary stop signs to help with traffic navigation.
Firefighters were also busy responding to residents concerned about how the outage would affect vital medical equipment, while police responded to triggered alarms and reports of break-ins, Cameron said.
What about critical care and health services?
▪ The outage hit FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, which switched to generator power. A hospital spokeswoman in a message to staff said the outage did not affect patients.
“The Moore campus is safely operating on backup generator power and we have not experienced any issues or concerns,” Gretchen Kelly said. Kelly told The N&O on Sunday that the hospital has enough fuel on hand for several days for generator power and plans in place to obtain more fuel as needed.
▪ The Clara McLean House, a hospitality house on the hospital’s campus, is also running on generator power.
▪ FirstHealth is working with local pharmacies and medical device companies to provide support and resources for residents dependent on medical devices or who require oxygen, Kelly said.
▪ Moore County’s transportation services are operating only for clients who have scheduled dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation treatment, the county website says.
▪ Fire, police, water and sewer services are all operating on generators, he said.
What officials are saying about the attack, possible charges
Fields stressed that Saturday’s attack was “targeted,” and that “the persons who did this knew exactly what they were doing.”
Fields said that considering state and federal involvement and the “millions of dollars” of damage done to Duke Energy property, charges will have “more teeth, more bite,” and will be “extensive.”
But the damage has also been done to the citizens of Moore County and its businesses, which are just starting to recover from COVID losses, Fields said. “This is gonna hurt.”
Answering a question about whether the attack rises to the level of domestic terrorism, Fields deferred to the judgment of federal officials assisting in the investigation.
At a press conference Monday, Fields said anyone with possible tips related to the crime should call 910-947-4444.
Where is Moore County, NC?
Moore County covers about 706 square miles in the small but geologically distinctive region of North Carolina known as the Sandhills, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh.
It is a retirement destination and is perhaps best known for its golf courses in Southern Pines and Pinehurst. It’s also known for having good medical facilities.
Golfers have come from all over the world to play at Pinehurst Resort, and the resort has hosted three U.S. Open championships, one U.S. Women’s Open, the U.S. Amateur Championships, a PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. The U.S. Open will return to Pinehurst in June 2024.
The county also is home to many military and civilian workers at U.S. Army Base Fort Bragg in neighboring Cumberland County, home to the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations.
Is there a connection to a drag show and protesters?
Fields said they have not been able to make a connection to a Saturday night drag queen show at Sunrise Theater in downtown Southern Pines after state and federal investigators looked into the rumor that started online.
Earlier in the day Saturday, protesters had gathered outside the theater, upset about a drag show planned for the small venue later that night.
The drag show started at 7 p.m. and was underway when the power went out.
Emily Grace Rainey, an outspoken opponent of the drag show, posted an invitation on her Facebook page to the protest at the theater. After the lights went out, Rainey, who became known in Moore County during the pandemic for her opposition to mask mandates, posted on Facebook that, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.”
Without naming her, Fields indicated in Sunday’s press conference that the information Rainey posted online was “false.” He said officers “had to go and interview this young lady and have a word of prayer with her, but it turned out to be nothing.”
Fields confirmed on Facebook that the Moore County Sheriff’s Office had come to her house to ask about the outage.
“I welcomed them to my home,” wrote Rainey, who organized a group of Moore County residents to travel to Washington on January 6, 2021. “Sorry they wasted their time. I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage. I used the opportunity to tell them about the immoral drag show and the blasphemies screamed by its supporters.”
Rainey said, “I told them God is chastising Moore County, thanked them for coming, and wished them a good night. Thankful for the LEOs service, as always.”
Headliner Naomi Dix of Durham kept the show going until almost 9 p.m.
“I asked that everyone turn on their phone flashlights to illuminate the room,” Dix said. “I then led the crowd in singing Beyoncé’s ‘Halo.’”
Adrienne Wood and Phoenix Rashash, two friends who were at the drag show, attended the sheriff’s news conference. They said law enforcement needs to take a hard look at the timing of the outage, which happened just as the show was getting underway.
“You don’t go shooting up power stations just for fun,” said Rashash, who works for the theater.
Kristen Johnson, Richard Stradling, Kimberly Cataudella, Korie Dean and Josh Shaffer contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 4, 2022 at 1:44 AM.
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