He’s charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility. The following month, Philippi introduced the idea for the energy facility plot to another confidential source, it says. With undercover FBI agents posing as accomplices, Philippi in September allegedly conducted “a reconnaissance of the substation,” the complaint states. “Electric utilities have always taken substation security seriously, primarily because of safety,” Patrick C. Miller, CEO of Oregon-based Ampere Industrial Security, which works with utilities to boost their security, told CNN in 2023. In 2020, a drone crashed near a Pennsylvania power substation in what was likely an effort to damage or disrupt the electric equipment, federal law enforcement said.

Source: CNN November 05, 2024 09:15 UTC