RALEIGH, N.C. — 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 is 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:
—How many people are still without power in Moore County?
Duke Energy’s outage map shows that more than 34,000 customers were 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.
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’s outage information lists the estimated time of power restoration in the county as Thursday, Dec. 8, at 11:45 a.m.
“Crews are making good progress on the substation repairs in Moore County,” a message on Duke Energy’s outage site reads. “Our technicians continue to work in 24-hour shifts and remain on schedule to bring service back on by early Thursday.”
Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at a news 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.
—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.”
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields called the suspects who damaged the substations “cowards” at a news 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.
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.
———
