Tuesday in Moore County: Where things stand on power outages, investigations

Tens of thousands of Moore County residents are entering their third full day without power after two Duke Energy electrical substations in the county were intentionally damaged Saturday evening.

The outages were first reported Saturday around 7 p.m. and spread through central and southern Moore County, a roughly 706-square-mile county in North Carolina’s Sandhills region that’s home to about 99,000 people.

Businesses, critical and health care resources, schools and more throughout the county are impacted by the outages.

Local, state and federal officials continue to investigate the outages.

As the situation continues to unfold, here’s what you need to know on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

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How many people are still without power in Moore County?

Duke Energy’s outage map shows that more than 34,000 customers are still without power in Moore County as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.

• Almost 15,000 customers in the Aberdeen area are affected.

• More than 7,000 customers in the Pinehurst area are affected.

• More than 6,800 customers in the Southern Pines area are affected.

• More than 6,000 customers in the Whispering Pines and Lakeview areas are affected.

• More than 100 customers in the Carthage area are affected. Power was largely restored in this area Tuesday.

In total, about 73% of the more than 47,000 Duke Energy customers served in the county remain without power Tuesday.

When will power be restored in Moore County?

Duke Energy said Tuesday afternoon that the company “anticipates having nearly all customers restored by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.”

Duke Energy’s outage map on Tuesday afternoon still listed the estimated time of power restoration in the county as Thursday, Dec. 8, at 11:45 a.m., though a message on the website said:

“Crews are making good progress on the substation repairs in Moore Co. and are currently ahead of schedule for bringing the repaired equipment back on-line. Barring any setbacks, we now expect to have the majority of service fully restored before midnight on Wednesday, with restoration in some areas beginning as early as tomorrow afternoon. All estimated restoration times in the Moore Co. area will be updated on the map shortly. We greatly appreciate your continued patience.”

Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at a press conference Monday that the power company has all of the equipment it needs to fully restore the substations. But getting some of the larger pieces to Moore County, installed and functioning, will take days, he said.

Moore County Schools closed

Moore County Schools announced Tuesday afternoon that schools will be closed for students on Wednesday and Thursday due to the ongoing outages.

Schools will also be closed for staff on Wednesday. The district will determine by 4 p.m. Wednesday whether schools will be closed for staff on Thursday, it said.

The district said it will determine by 4 p.m. Thursday whether schools will be closed for students on Friday.

“Once power is restored, twenty-four hours is required for schools to be able to welcome back students,” the district said in a Facebook post. “This is due to the impact the outage has had on child nutrition services; specifically our school cafeteria freezers and the need to move food supplies to sites that have electricity. Additionally, the outage continues to impact traffic patterns that make it unsafe to operate school buses.”

Are there updates on the investigation?

Officials say the investigation into the attack is ongoing, with local, state and federal authorities “working around the clock.” No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been named yet.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields called the suspects who damaged the substations “cowards” at a press conference Sunday afternoon, and said the perpetrators in the attack knew “exactly what they were doing.”

Officials have said that a firearm was used to damage the substations, but have not provided details about the type of firearm.

Fields said that considering state and federal involvement and the “millions of dollars” of damage done to Duke Energy property, charges will have “more teeth, more bite,” and will be “extensive.”

While some people, including on social media and in the community, have called the attack an act of domestic terrorism, Fields has not said whether he considers the incident as such.

Experts say it’s not possible to know if domestic terrorism occurred until the culprits — and their motivations — are known.

▪ What is domestic terrorism? The FBI defines domestic terrorism as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”

At a press conference in the county Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper called the attack “a new level of threat,” echoing Fields’ insistence that the perpetrators knew what they were doing and acted deliberately.

“Regardless of motive,” he said, “violence and sabotage will not be tolerated.”

Cooper said investigators are “leaving no stone unturned” as they analyze the situation and whether it was terrorism.

How can I report a tip about what happened in Moore County?

Officials are asking anyone with information about the attack on the substations to call the sheriff’s tip line at 910-947-4444.

What security measures were in place at the substation?

Brooks has declined to discuss security measures at the Moore County substations or what changes might be made after the attacks.

“What I can say is that Duke Energy incorporates multiple layers across its system to monitor and protect critical infrastructure,” he said at Monday’s press conference.

Other substations around the country have previously been targeted in similar attacks in the past decade, perhaps most notably at Pacific Gas & Electric’s Metcalf substation in California in 2013, highlighting the vulnerability of the stations.

“We learn from every incident that security is always an evolving process,” Brooks said Monday when asked about the California attack. “We take information from our peers; we share information with our trade organizations and government agencies. It’s a collaborative effort to stay ahead of these kinds of challenges. Certainly that event provided learnings for all of the industry and was incorporated into our responses.”

What resources are available to Moore County residents?

The News & Observer created an interactive map with information about the resources available for Moore County residents on Tuesday. The resources include shelters and warming buildings, charging stations, food and more.

Click on a location pin on the map to learn more about the resources offered there.

You can also find more information about these resources in additional coverage by The N&O.

How can I help residents in Moore County?

There are opportunities available via GoFundMe fundraisers to support affected residents and businesses in Moore County.

▪ Meat and Greek, a local food truck, is partnering with other local trucks to deliver free, hot meals to workers restoring power and families in need. To support these efforts, you can donate at gofundme.com/f/powering-the-powerless-feeding-fams-workers.

▪ RADAR, a local dog rescue, was left without power and heat and moved the rescue’s seven dogs to an Airbnb short-term rental with a required pet deposit. To support the rescue’s costs during this time, you can donate at gofundme.com/f/help-rogue-active-duty-animal-rescue.

This story will be updated throughout the day.