NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, read the "Background" below.

1. What does a transmission substation, and the Metcalf substation in particular, do?

2. What happened at the Metcalf transmission substation in California over 8 months ago?

3. a) Who is Jon Wellinghoff?
b) Why did Mr. Wellinghoff decide to go public about the attack at the Metcalf substation?

4. a) Eight months later, who does the FBI say perpetrated the attack?
b) What do you think?  Ask a parent the same question.

5. a) Who is Mark Johnson?
b) How does Mr. Johnson regard the attack on Metcalf?
c) Why do you think Mr. Johnson did not want to comment for the WSJ article?

6. a) Why did a PG&E spokesman decline to discuss the Metcalf attack in detail?
b) What steps has PG&E taken in response to the attack?

7. From Los Angeles' KTLA.com news:

a) While Jon Wellinghoff, retired chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time of the attack has expressed concern that the attack may have been a test run for a bigger strike — possibly terrorism — the FBI has declared the incident wasn’t an act of terror and is still investigating the case, with no arrests made. The FBI considers the incident vandalism, said a spokesman. “There is no nexus to terrorism at this time,” he said.
What do you think of Mr. Wellinghoff's concerns in light of the FBI's conclusion?

b) Mr. Wellinghoff is urging Congress to fill a void in federal law that he says doesn’t empower any federal agency to demand better security around electrical substations, which he describes as barely protected with a chain-link fence and cameras. Even those cameras don’t capture details outside the fence, because they are more focused inside it, he added. Last year’s sabotage was carried out by at least one sniper at a good distance from the fence, outside the camera’s focus, Wellinghoff said. “We need to have a national coordinated plan, and we have to have a federal agency that is in charge,” Wellinghoff said.
Do you agree with Mr. Wellinghoff's recommendation? Explain your answer.

c) In the meantime, Wellinghoff is urging utilities to enact low-cost improvements such as replacing chain-link fencing with an opaque barrier that would block a sniper’s vision of the substation. Wellinghoff is also recommending movable concrete Jersey barriers as a perimeter around the substations — to stop any sniper bullets. He’s also recommending utilities extend lighting beyond the fence yard, with more sophisticated cameras, so video can capture saboteurs outside the fence. The California sniper or snipers were 40 to 60 yards outside the substation fence, he said. “This isn’t about this substation or this organized attack,” Wellinghoff said of the California incident. “This is more about the larger issue of physical security of these high-voltage substations nationwide and the need to ensure that some defensive measures start to be put in place.”

Do you agree with Mr. Wellinghoff's recommendations and assertion? Explain your answer.