SAN JOSE — The same PG&E electricity substation hit by gunfire in 2013 has endured a fresh security breach, despite a wide-ranging upgrade of the facility’s security systems, the utility reported Wednesday.
Unknown individuals stole construction materials from the Metcalf substation in San Jose early Wednesday morning, PG&E said. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the utility are investigating the incident.
“The preliminary review suggests human error as the apparent cause of the security breach,” PG&E said in a prepared release.
According to PG&E, a breach of the fence at the facility triggered alarms at the substation, but those alarms were not detected by the utility’s onsite security staff for reasons the utility did not explain Wednesday.
A source with knowledge about the incident said that the security staff is supposed to make a sweep every 20 minutes of the perimeter, but the theft took at least 45 minutes to complete.
San Francisco-based PG&E had completed an array of upgrades at the Metcalf station prior to the theft of the equipment, said Nicole Liebelt, a spokeswoman for the utility.
The sniper attack in April 2013 — which remains unsolved but was described by at least former high-level federal official as a possible act of terrorism — prompted PG&E to undertake a sweeping upgrade of security at an unspecified number of electricity substations in California. PG&E is spending $100 million on the improvements.
“The improvements being implemented include improved security cameras, enhanced intruder detection systems and a solid wall around the Metcalf substation and other critical stations to replace existing chain-link style fencing,” PG&E said.
The solid wall around Metcalf should be completed by year’s end, Liebelt said.
The most recent security breach didn’t disrupt electricity service.
“The theft involved construction materials that were stolen from a construction trailer,” Liebelt said.
PG&E already faces fines for its role in a fatal explosion of natural gas in San Bruno in 2010, a federal felony indictment connected to the San Bruno blast, and a federal grand jury probe into a gas explosion in Carmel earlier this year.
State Sen. Jerry Hill, whose district includes San Mateo County, has introduced a bill, SB 699, that would require the state Public Utilities Commission to craft new regulations to deal with physical security at electricity substations such as the Metcalf complex. The bill has passed the state Assembly and is being debated in the state Senate. It wasn’t known whether the PUC is expected to require PG&E to undertake upgrades that reach beyond what it plans.
“This latest incident shows that what PG&E did to upgrade the Metcalf substation was not adequate,” Hill said. “This second breach is unacceptable.”
Contact George Avalos at 408-859-5167. Follow him at Twitter.com/georgeavalos.
