Rocky Mountain Power Monitors Potential Terror Threats

Rocky Mountain Power, which supplies electric power to much of Wyoming, has been closely watching the recent apparent criminal attack on electric power substations in North Carolina, according to a statement the company issued Monday.

The Salt Lake City-based Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of the Portland, Oregon-based Pacific Corp., said it also is monitoring its own assets it uses to supply power to its 1.2 million customers in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.

On Saturday, one or more persons fired bullets at two substations operated by Duke Energy in Moore County, North Carolina, which is about 60 miles southwest of the state capital Raleigh.

The damage, which authorities regard as a criminal act, was a targeted attack that left about 45,000 customers without power. About 9,000 customers have had their power restored.

In a prepared statement from company spokesman David Eskelsen, Rocky Mountain Power said,

"We are aware of the events and have security measures in place to protect our assets and keep our customers and employees safe and secure.

"We are working closely with industry partners and law enforcement to monitor the situation and will apply any emerging threat information to evaluate against our security measures to reduce the likelihood or impact of an attack where possible.

"As always, protecting the nation’s energy grid and ensuring a reliable and affordable supply of energy are top priorities for the energy industry and PacifiCorp."