Thousands were left without electricity near Tacoma in Washington after three substations were vandalized. Local authorities stated that the incident occurred on Christmas Day and it wasn’t yet known if they were related.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, robberies occurred at substations owned by Tacoma Public Utilities as well as one belonging to Puget Sound Energy. It stated that deputies had reported forced entry to the area. The equipment was vandalized, but no items were taken. More than 14,000 customers were also affected.
“At the moment, deputies conduct an initial investigation. No suspects are currently in our custody. The motives of the suspects are not known.
A North Carolina utility reported earlier this month outages due to what local authorities claimed were coordinated shootings. Federal law enforcement is now investigating.
According to NBC News, the FBI is also investigating shootings that were fired in South Carolina near a South Carolina power plant days later.
The severe cold system this week that battered the nation left more than 300,000. It has caused major disruptions to utilities across the country.
Tacoma Public Utilities continues to provide service for approximately 2,700 residents in east Piece County. This is after an initial 7300 people lost their power. The area is 45 miles (72km) from Seattle.
It stated that it was working to restore power as soon as possible and noted that substations had been “attacked” on Sunday morning. Police were also informed.
