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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The deluge came furiously — and shockingly fast. Sean Rayford / Getty ImagesA week after Helene ravaged the hills, hollows and river valleys of western North Carolina, recovery and rescue efforts remained ongoing. Tropical Storm Fred made it even worse,” he added, referencing a storm that hit in 2021. But assessing who will need shelter — and for how long — is something “we kind of have to start figuring out,” he said. “We’re going to have to make some decisions here really soon.”Minyvonne Burke reported from Asheville, North Carolina, and Lewis Kamb from Seattle.

Persons: —, James Yulon Ferguson, Ferguson, ”, “, Sean Rayford, Helene, “ We’ve, Mark Pless, “ That’s, ” Vincent Floriani, Ulysse Bellier, Justin Graney, Jeff Brooks, “ It’s, Brooks, Pless, we’ll, they’re, Bryant Morehead, “ Covid, Fred, Morehead, Haywood, Allison Joyce, Devonna Brown, “ We’re, ” Minyvonne Burke, Lewis Kamb Organizations: Republican, Getty, North Carolina Emergency Management, Duke Energy, Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, NBC News Locations: ASHEVILLE, N.C, Rock, North Carolina, State, Canton, Asheville, Swannanoa, AFP, Buncombe County, Haywood, Haywood County, Asheville , North Carolina, Seattle

Videos from social media showed riverfront communities in North Carolina such as New Bern, Belhaven and Washington experiencing significant flooding. Tens of thousands of North Carolina homes and businesses remained without electricity across several eastern counties as of Saturday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. A Duke Energy map showed scattered power outages across much of eastern North Carolina, as winds toppled tree limbs and snagged power lines. Brian Haines, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, said there were reports of downed trees but no major road closings. The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland each declared a state of emergency on Friday.

Persons: Ophelia, Philippe Papin, Papin, Jeff Brooks, WTVD, Brian Haines, Carl Cannon Jr, Cannon Jr, ”, Michael Brennan, “, ” Brennan, Lee, Aaron Montgomery, ___ Mattise, Jackie Quinn, Ron Todt, Sudhin, Christopher Weber Organizations: U.S, National Hurricane Center, Coast Guard, Duke Energy, North Carolina Division, Emergency Management, Beaufort Pirate, AP Radio Locations: ANNAPOLIS, Md, North Carolina, Virginia, Richmond , Virginia, Charlottesville , Virginia, Delmarva, New Jersey, Jersey, Sea Isle City, New York, New England, East Coast, Emerald Isle , North Carolina, New Bern, Belhaven, Washington, Lookout Bight, Cape Lookout , North Carolina, North, Banks, Beaufort, “, Maryland, Boston , New York City, Williamsburg , Virginia, Virginia Beach, Nashville , Tennessee, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles

More than 1.5 million homes and businesses lost power, oil refineries in Texas cut gasoline and diesel production on equipment failures, and heating and power prices surged on the losses. Oil and gas output from North Dakota to Texas suffered freeze-ins, cutting supplies. Freeze-ins - in which ice crystals halt oil and gas production - this week trimmed production in North Dakota's oilfields by 300,000 to 350,000 barrels per day, or a third of normal. Power prices on Texas's grid also spiked to $3,700 per megawatt hour, prompting generators to add more power to the grid before prices fell back as thermal and solar supplies came online. That is the biggest drop in output since the February 2021 freeze knocked out power for millions in Texas.

The recent attack on two North Carolina substations that cut power to thousands of people has raised concerns about security standards for the country’s electric grid and its numerous power stations, which have faced greater threats in recent years. Nearly 600 electric emergency incidents and disturbances were caused by suspected and confirmed physical attacks and vandalism on the electric grid in those nine years, the reports show. The incidents, which are self-reported by power companies to the federal government, provide little to no detail about what occurred. Paths forward for a new standardThose who want a new security standard said there remain significant bureaucratic headwinds against such a proposal. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit originally created by the electricity industry, said it created security requirements based on risk, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

☆ Power company on 'final push' to restore electricity after gunfire led to massive outages in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Cooper's office, Moore County and Duke Energy, officials said Wednesday. At its peak, around 45,000 Moore County customers were left without power, Duke Energy said. Duke Energy said the vandalism destroyed large and vital pieces of equipment, which needed to be replaced. The restoration of power led officials on Wednesday to announce that the curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. Thursday. There have been no confirmed deaths due to the power outage, Moore County Director of Public Safety Bryan Phillips said.

☆ North Carolina county in dark for third day after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday said "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ North Carolina county enters third day of outages as FBI probes motive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Thousands of residents in a North Carolina county entered their third day without lights and heating on Tuesday after "targeted attacks" on two electric substations over the weekend caused widespread outages and shut down schools across the county. The outages came after a suspect was alleged to have driven up to two Duke Energy power substations Saturday night and opening fire, disabling the two substations and plunging tens of thousands of people into a blackout. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said the attacks at the substations located in West End and Carthage, about 5 miles apart, appeared to be targeted, but a motive in the attacks remains unclear. "Due to the continuing widespread power outage in Moore County and on Moore County Schools operations, all schools will be closed to all students and staff on Tuesday," Moore County Schools said in a tweet Monday. Spokesperson for Duke Energy Corporation Jeff Brooks, center, speaks on Monday at the Moore County Sheriffs office.

☆ North Carolina county still in dark after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Tuesday that "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ North Carolina electric grid shooter 'knew exactly what they were doing,' sheriff says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fields' comments came as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned of a "new level of threat" posed by the incident and called for hardening of critical infrastructure including the power grid. “Protecting critical infrastructure like our power system must be a top priority,” said Cooper, a Democrat, in a press briefing on Monday. Schools in Moore County will be closed for a second day on Tuesday and 38,000 households were still without power amid freezing nighttime temperatures after the Saturday shootings. The saboteur "knew exactly what they were doing to cause the damage and cause the outage that they did," Fields said. That is nearly everyone who the company serves in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at a press briefing on Monday.

☆ Suspected vandals leave thousands in the dark in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Outages began around 7 p.m. Saturday, and utility workers found evidence at multiple electric substations that "indicated intentional vandalism had occurred," Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in a statement. But Brooks told NBC News that he could not further describe the nature of the possible crime. In Pinehurst, the county's largest community of about 20,000 residents, church was canceled at the Pinehurst United Methodist Church, which holds three services every Sunday. "Read your Bible, pray...and stay safe," church leaders posted on its Facebook, leaving open whether its Christmas concert would go on in the late afternoon. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a crippled electrical substation that they said was hit by gunfire after the Moore County Sheriff said that vandalism caused a mass power outage, in Carthage, North Carolina, U.S. December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 4 (Reuters) - Residents of a central North Carolina county faced a second night of freezing weather without power on Sunday after vandals opened fire on two electric substations in what authorities called a "targeted attack." A motive for the Saturday night damage spree wasn't clear, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields. The lights went dark at about 7 p.m. Saturday for 40,000 homes and businesses in Moore County. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why Faulty Streetlights Are Turning Cities Purple — and Why It's Worrisome
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

LED streetlights are supposed to shine for the better part of a decade. Every city with purple lights that responded to my queries or has public records on the matter bought its LED lights from Acuity. The blue LED, with its narrow wavelength, enabled all sorts of modern tech, from the compact disc to flat-screen monitors. Acuity and the purple cities haven't been entirely transparent on that matter. "The purple streetlights are a result of the phosphor coating delaminating from the LEDs," says Fiona Hughes, a representative for the city of Vancouver.

☆ Duke Energy is one of the top leakers of a gas that is 25,000 times more polluting than carbon dioxide, EPA records show
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Phil Mckenna | Inside Climate News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +22 min

The emissions were equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 59,000 automobiles, according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator. Under such a scenario Duke Energy would likely have years of low emissions punctuated by a single year of high emissions. While other utilities have participated for decades in a voluntary program with the EPA to reduce SF6 emissions to next to nothing, Duke Energy has not. Brooks said Duke Energy is also targeting its most leaky equipment for faster replacement. The figure is roughly half of 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, far smaller than yearly emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary driver of climate change.

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