PG&E offers $250K reward for information on attack on Silicon Valley phone lines, power grid

SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific Gas & Electric Co. offered a $250,000 reward on Thursday for information leading to an arrest and conviction in an attack nearly a year ago on phone lines and the power grid in Silicon Valley.

The attack on April 16, just a day after the Boston Marathon bombings, involved snipping AT&T fiber-optic lines to knock out phone and 911 service, and firing shots into a PG&E substation.

Millions of people in Santa Clara County were asked to conserve energy after power lines were damaged.

Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Jon Wellinghoff called the incident an act of terrorism.

However, FBI spokesman Peter Lee has said the investigation is ongoing and the agency has no indications to back that up.

The sniper bullets knocked out 17 transformers powering parts of Silicon Valley and caused $15 million in damage.

Officials rerouted power to avoid a blackout, but it took PG&E workers nearly a month to repair the damage. No arrests have been made.

Wellinghoff, who was in office during the incident, said he reached his conclusion after consulting with Defence Department experts about the attack.

PG&E has said it plans to install opaque walls and deploy advanced camera systems, enhanced lighting and additional alarms at the San Jose substation and other sites.

A California lawmaker, meanwhile, has introduced legislation that would require state utilities to beef up security.

The bill by state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would require utilities to assess security risks and make needed improvements. The bill would also require utilities to better co-ordinate responses to security breaches with law enforcement.