this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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[–] miz@hexbear.net 37 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

Another casualty of the trade wars: now we don't have transformers | Inside China Business

The United States will soon need to replace over 30 million power transformers on existing power grids, while somehow meeting the enormous new power demand from factories and AI data centers.

Under US law, all the new components and materials used by electric utilities must be build in the United States.

Wait times for new transformers and switches are now over three years, and costs are rocketing higher.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 33 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Damn, this seems like a huge vulnerability in the US's industrial production, communications, and computation sectors - imagine if somebody attacked the transformers of key facilities all over the country? They're usually outside and protected by a chain link fence at most. A destructive actor seeking to sabotage the operations of US industry and government could deal enormous damage with simple homemade explosives lobbed over fences at these critical points of an already vulnerable grid. Crazy to think about.

[–] context@hexbear.net 23 points 10 months ago

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/12/08/string-of-electrical-grid-attacks-in-pacific-northwest-are-unsolved/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_County_substation_attack

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack

the capitalist response to climate change will be increasing stochastic terrorism against its own electrical infrastructure, thereby reducing emissions maybe

[–] D61@hexbear.net 22 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Easier to just get a carbine and take potshots at them well outside of the range of the fences and any cameras watching the permiter.

[–] miz@hexbear.net 18 points 10 months ago

applying for a sabotage permit? rookie mistake

[–] NewOldGuard@hexbear.net 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fascists in my area were doing that a few years back and caused millions in damages in just a couple of weeks

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Were they caught? If you know they're fascists it seems like they got caught doing it and it's not a safe method? How were they caught?

[–] fox@hexbear.net 12 points 10 months ago

People typically haven't been caught for these attacks because they're done in the dead of night at great distance in uninhabited areas against mostly unwatched infrastructure. When they're caught it's from ballistics forensics or because they were loud about it before or after the attack online or in person.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 6 points 10 months ago
[–] john_brown@hexbear.net 27 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I believe the US also provided a bunch of transformers and other equipment to Ukraine that had been in reserve for weather disaster response repairs. Then that hurricane hit and demolished the appalachian region and shucks we were fresh out of transformers.

[–] Grapho@lemmy.ml 15 points 10 months ago

Shock therapy :kelly:

[–] marxisthayaca@hexbear.net 18 points 10 months ago
[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] miz@hexbear.net 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

thanks for being there for me, lil buddy