Loire: the authorities are concerned about sabotage against the power grid

An electricity pylon sawn down, the mayor of Roche-la-Molière worries about “ecoterrorism”

Le Progrès, December 26, 2023

Since November 1, when a fire broke out at the Volvon RTE substation in Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules, the Loire department has been facing a new kind of threat. Although the incident caused no immediate harm, the Gendarmerie’s investigation quickly confirmed its criminal nature, as traces of an accelerant were found on site.

Barely three weeks later, on November 20, an extra-high-voltage pylon operated by RTE on the Bessy plateau in Roche-la-Molière was sawed down. As the police took charge of the initial formalities, the event was linked to the fire at the beginning of the month and to another act of mischief in the Puy-de-Dôme region. The Gendarmerie’s research section in Lyon then took charge of the case.

For his part, Éric Berlivet, the mayor of Roche-la-Molière, took the matter seriously and “suspected eco-terrorism”, although no specific claims had been made to date. The Saint-Étienne public prosecutor’s office, for its part, is content to refer to “political acts through this desire to cut off the power”, without going any further. However, this second act represents a more immediate threat, according to the mayor: “These pylons are mini-Eiffel Towers, and one of them is threatening to fall,” he asserts.

“There are four legs on these extra-high-voltage lines, one of which has been cut, so the tower is crippled. It’s pretty impressive to see.” A security perimeter has been set up around the pylon. “There’s no housing in this direct zone, but local residents are going past the barriers we’ve set up to get home quicker,” says an annoyed Rouchon chief magistrate.

This pylon ensures the smooth running of “a major energy highway supplying electricity to the Ondaine and Haute-Loire regions”. And we’ll have to be patient before the risk is definitively eliminated, as the installation cannot simply be repaired. “The pylon has to be ordered, the old one dismantled and a new one erected,” explains the mayor. “According to the departments concerned, this will take at least until next autumn.

RTE, the owner of the land and electrical installations, has announced that “repair work will be carried out in the coming weeks”, without giving any further details. A complaint has been lodged by the company, which assures us that there is no risk of a power cut: “As the network is meshed, de-energizing the line has no impact on the power supply, as this is done by another route”.

via: sansnom

Translated by Act for freedom now!