Warns 'large portions of our grid' could be taken down by attacker with .22

[link to www.wnd.com]

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“A coordinated physical attack is a very, very unsettling thing to me,” Wellinghoff said. The FERC chairman said that about six weeks ago he visited a Pennsylvania plant where high- voltage transformers are made. “It was a very interesting and very eye-opening experience,” he said.

Transformers, which alter the voltage of electricity, are often custom built for utilities and can take 18 to 36 months to make, according to Wellinghoff. They are also inadequately protected, often surrounded only by chain-link fences, he said.

An attacker “could get 200 yards away with a .22 rifle and take the whole thing out,” Wellinghoff said.