Stricter penalties for damaging substations approved unanimously by NC Senate
The North Carolina Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would increase criminal penalties for damaging electrical substations and other energy facilities and vital infrastructure.
Senate Bill 58, which was introduced by GOP lawmakers last month in response to the attack on two substations in Moore County last year that left tens of thousands without power for days, passed the Senate unanimously. It now heads to the House.
If signed into law, the bill would make it a Class C felony to “knowingly and willfully” damage or try to damage an energy facility. Damage done to any such facility that results in a death would be punished as a Class B2 felony. Violating the law would also carry a $250,000 fine.
People who suffer personal or property damage as a result of an attack on a substation or a similar facility would also be able to sue the individuals responsible for three times the cost of damages, other costs and attorneys’ fees.
A law that prohibits trespassing onto electric and natural gas facilities would be expanded to all energy facilities, and the criminal penalties for first-degree trespassing would be increased.
Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican and primary sponsor of the bill, said last month that the message lawmakers were sending with the bill was simple.
“If you are contemplating destroying electrical infrastructure or other critical infrastructure in North Carolina, don’t do it,” Newton said.
Nearly 45,000 Duke Energy customers were impacted by the outages after power went out on the evening of Dec. 8, when authorities said two substations were damaged by gunfire from suspects who, more than three months later, have yet to be identified.
Power was gradually restored over days, but the nearly weeklong loss of power to homes, businesses, schools, and emergency services like hospitals forced thousands of people throughout the county to quickly adapt. People sat in the dark, charged their phones in their cars and stored food in refrigerators powered by generators.
Residents were under a state of emergency and curfew for much of the week, and schools remained closed until the week’s end.
“This was a willful, intentional and malicious act, not a random act,” Sen. Tom McInnis, a Republican who represents Moore County, said during a press conference last month. “It was intended to do harm to a large number of people — 40,000 households and businesses, basically the whole county.”
Local and state authorities announced a jointly funded $75,000 reward shortly after the attack for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for destroying the substations, and the FBI followed up by offering an additional $25,000 reward last month.
The investigation into the attacks has progressed slowly and authorities have struggled with a lack of evidence, The Pilot of Southern Pines reported last week.
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