Shots reported near SC power facility, no damage found

RIDGEWAY, S.C. (AP) — Duke Energy said it found no sign of property damage at a hydropower station in South Carolina where gunfire was reported nearby.

Thousands of Duke Energy customers in neighboring North Carolina lost power Saturday night after authorities said one or more people drove up to two substations there, breached the gates and opened fire.

Duke Energy said it’s looking into separate reports of gunfire Wednesday near the Wateree Hydro Station in Ridgeway, South Carolina.

“No individuals were harmed. There are no outages reported. There is no known property damage at this time. We are working closely with the FBI on this issue,” the company statement says.

Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan told WTLX-TV that a deputy went to the hydro station, where people reported that someone fired from the passenger side window of a vehicle that went by. The witnesses said the shooter fired toward the woods nearby, not at them or the power plant or dam, “so we can’t absolutely confirm that there was any threat to the power station,” Boan said.

Multiple federal agencies are monitoring the development. Kevin Wheeler, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Columbia, South Carolina, said local agents responded to the scene and are working with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office. While “no stone is left unturned,” according to Wheeler, there is no existing information connecting the incident to the North Carolina substation shooting.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Energy said an investigation is underway.

“DOE strongly condemns these attacks and will continue to work with law enforcement and our partners to address these threats and secure our nation’s critical energy infrastructure,” a statement read.

Duke Energy completed repairs Wednesday on electric substation equipment that was damaged in the North Carolina shootings, knocking out power to more than 45,000 customers. Officials said power was restored to the county Wednesday evening, though the effects of the outage were still being felt Thursday in Moore County, where schools remained closed.

No motive has been released in the North Carolina attacks, but Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields told reporters that whoever was responsible “knew exactly what they were doing to … cause the outage that they did.”

The FBI posted a notice seeking tips, and North Carolina, Moore County and Duke Energy have offered combined rewards of up to $75,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Electric utilities in the Northwest U.S. have also reported attacks on the electrical grid in recent weeks.

At least four electrical substations have been targeted in separate attacks in Oregon and Washington since late November, Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW Public Radio reported Thursday. Attackers used firearms in at least some of the incidents, and some power customers in Oregon temporarily lost service.

In one of the attacks, two people cut through a fence surrounding a high-voltage substation and then shot several pieces of equipment, according to an email from Bonneville Power Administration security specialist Kenneth Worstell. Worstell also referenced several other recent attacks that included setting control houses on fire, sabotaging electrical control systems and intentionally causing short circuits.

The utilities — Portland General Electric, the Bonneville Power Administration and Puget Sound Energy — said they were working with the FBI on the attacks. The FBI declined to confirm the investigation.

“The FBI routinely shares information with our law enforcement partners in order to assist in protecting the communities they serve,” Joy Jiras, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland, Oregon, said in a statement to the broadcast stations on Wednesday. “We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”