The problem is that power companies will not recognize how vulnerable their sub-stations are to sabotage. Even sabotage by some witless moron who just wants to see sparks fly. The big transformers are not usually kept in reserve to be switched out as soon as one is disabled. That means that a few shots to the casing will disable the oil cooling and internal circuits.
What I find astonishing, (but believable considering the mindset of bureaucrats and yes-men), is that they simply refuse to believe that they could be a target. There have been a lot of security audits of power sub-stations and large generating plants, but the feckless lickspittle bureaucrats simply will not accept the results.
What's the end game here? Kill people or to make a statement?
It's to control the amount of power the govermint is going to allow you to consume. Damage the infrastructure, force people to do without no matter what the consequences (chronically ill using life support devices at home, heat for the elderly, etc.); just a taste of what's to come.
I think some of the people sabotaging power grids are idiots and fail to recognize how they are damaging their very own infrastructure -- So they shoot up a transformer or two, but then get home and find they have no electricity for a few weeks.
OTOH, some who do this are terrorists, domestic most likely, who are testing to see how much damage they can do to the local infrastructure.
Let's hope they don't figure out how to really bring down a wide-area power grid, which is easy to do.
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