Why extremists keep trying to turn out the lights

Presented by American Clean Power: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Apr 08, 2024 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by American Clean Power The sun shines over towers carrying electrical lines in South San Francisco, California. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Political violence has an increasingly common outlet: the electric grid. Unrest in the U.S. and abroad is driving a “dramatic increase” in malicious cyber activity on the nation’s power system, according to an industry grid watchdog. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. says the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war combined with Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the impending U.S. election are compounding the steady increase of threats by domestic and foreign actors, writes Catherine Morehouse. “The current geopolitical situation has significant ramifications for the North American grid,” said Manny Cancel, senior vice president at NERC. “We know activists continue to use this as a vehicle to get their ideology and other political thoughts across.” Physical threats against the electric grid have also skyrocketed in recent years, reaching an all-time high in 2023, according to a POLITICO analysis of Energy Department data. That year, the nation’s power providers reported 185 incidents of physical attacks or threats against the grid, twice the number of instances in 2021. Just last week, someone attempted to destroy a substation in California by shooting at a transformer and shutting off circuit breakers. An FBI official told local news that the attack, had it succeeded, could have proved catastrophic for people relying on electricity for medical purposes. Security experts attribute the rise in attacks to a growth in domestic extremism and terrorism, enabled by public messaging boards where people share information about how to target vulnerabilities in the power system. While the majority of threats and attacks have not caused rolling, regionwide blackouts, they can do serious damage. An attack in 2022 at two substations in North Carolina cut the power for 45,000 people for four days. An 87-year-old woman died after her oxygen machine failed. Grid watchdogs are particularly concerned, however, about hackers linked to U.S. adversaries. “The major nation-state actors — China, North Korea, Iran and Russia — absolutely possess the capability to disrupt critical infrastructure here in North America,” Cancel said.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.   A message from American Clean Power:  The story of clean power is one of American success. This growing industry provides over 460,000 jobs across the United States and is creating a new domestic manufacturing boom. Clean power is not just clean—it’s reliable, affordable, and American made. Learn more.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Hear the story from Catherine directly as she breaks down the latest warning from the nation's grid reliability authority.   A message from American Clean Power:   Power Centers POLITICO illustration/Photos by iStock Development coming to a wetland near you In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last year that exempted tens of millions of acres of wetlands from Clean Water Act protection, some states are opening up more wetlands to development, writes Miranda Willson. Climate advocates and former Environmental Protection Agency officials are alarmed by the trend. They say more states could follow the same path, at a time when wetland loss is accelerating. Arizona GOP eyes ‘wild’ ballot measures Arizona's Constitution enshrines the right to religious freedom and free public education. This year, the state's top Republican lawmakers are proposing to add another: the right to own gas-powered leaf blowers, writes Adam Aton. That’s just one of a long list of ballot questions that Arizona voters could face this year as Republicans try to circumvent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto pen by proposing referendums on climate and energy issues. Pressure mounts on China to pony up Western diplomats are ramping up pressure on China to commit to helping poorer countries struggling to cope with climate change, writes Karl Mathiesen. Under the 1992 U.N. climate treaty, wealthy countries are required to pay in. While China was initially exempt, the country has grown wealthier in the three decades since that initial climate treaty. In Other News ‘Between a rock and a charred place’: Heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane levels in the air again spiked to record highs last year. A fecal matter: Heavy rain and rising sea levels are sending sewage into some South Carolina streets and ponds.   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. California released a new transmission plan to help offshore wind. | Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB/AFP via Getty Images California’s grid operator wants to invest $4.6 billion to upgrade the state's transmission system for offshore wind, highlighting a nationwide shift toward grid expansions. An influential human rights court is set to rule on three cases Tuesday that could force European governments to more aggressively tackle climate change. Decaying power stations built in the days of the USSR could hold the key to keeping the lights on in Ukraine, as Moscow’s attacks plunge millions into darkness. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.       A message from American Clean Power: Clean energy supports over 460,000 American jobs, powers tens of millions of homes, and delivers billions in investments each year to local communities.  As clean energy powers more homes and businesses than ever before, it's creating an American manufacturing boom. Over 120 new manufacturing facilities have been announced across the country—constructing the wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries that help our economy grow. The clean energy sector is committed to building on that progress—which is why technicians, installers, and engineers from the American Clean Power Association are on Capitol Hill this week to urge Congress to: Preserve tax incentives for the industry. Protect the right to build clean energy on private property. Pass bipartisan permitting reform. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service