3:56 p.m. ET, December 5, 2022
North Carolina governor says cause of outages was a "criminal attack" on substations
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called widespread outages in Moore County a "criminal attack" on the county's substations.
The governor said at a news conference Monday he has been briefed regularly on the investigation into the attacks as well as the emergency management efforts to resume power for thousands of people in the community. He said he has also met with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Cooper said he visited one of the substations as crews were working to get them back up and running. Energy workers have been "working around the clock" to restore power, but said it is a "very complex" effort.
Duke Energy said in a statement Monday it could take until Thursday for power to be restored to most customers.
The governor said the priority moving forward is to help people, especially those in adult care home and other vulnerable populations.
The state is "making sure that critical services,” including hospitals and law enforcement, are supported and available in the meantime.
“All of that is crucial," Cooper said.
Officials have not yet announced any motive in the case.
"Regardless of motive, violence and sabotage will not be tolerated," Cooper added.