Rep. Adam Schiff says sniper attack on California electric station 'of great concern’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Capitol Hill lawmakers said Sunday a planned sniper attack on a remote California power station was of grave concern, repeating similar responses about the strike and suggesting changes in the ways the United States protects its power grid.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., suggested the country has recently focused too much on cyber attacks.
“Perhaps we’ve taken our eye off the ball,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schiff's comments follow revelations last week about the 2013 sniper attack on the electrical substation in San Jose that lasted 52 minutes and knocked out 17 transformers.
“It was a sophisticated attack,” said Schiff, who serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which has oversight on homeland security and energy issues. “I hope this wasn’t a dry run, but this is of great concern.”
He suggested the United States rework how it protects power stations by placing a higher priority on the roughly 100 remote ones across the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The April 16, 2013, attack on the Pacific Gas & Electric’s Metcalf transmission station started when the snipers cut the telephone cables, then fired at least 100 shots into the facility.
“Any time you have a power station under attack … it’s of grave concern,” Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told Fox News. “We have to be better fortified. … We have to do a better job.”
However, he argued preparing against a cyber attack is equally important.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Congress is already taking action in light of the 2013 attack.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other top Senate Democrats sent a letter Friday to federal and industry officials asking whether stronger federal standards are needed to protect the U.S. power grid.
The letter followed a bipartisan group of senators meeting with industry and government officials to discuss the success of voluntary measures to protect the country’s bulk power system.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Industry officials didn’t support further regulations. But the meeting concluded with a desire for additional legislation to legally protect those who share information about issues like attacks and disaster preparation, Joy Ditto, a vice president with the American Public Power Association, told FoxNews.com on Wednesday.