HYDRO QUEBEC PYLON VANDALIZED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTREAL 001555

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2014
TAGS: ENRG PTER PBTS CA
SUBJECT: HYDRO QUEBEC PYLON VANDALIZED

REF: REF: 03 OTTAWA 2558

Classified By: PRINCIPAL OFFICER BERNADETTE M. ALLEN; Reason: 1.4


1. (C) Thierry Vandal, President of Hydro Quebec,s
Production division, described the recent vandalism at a
Hydro Quebec pylon about a mile from the U.S. border, near
Coaticook in Quebec,s Eastern Townships, as the work of
&amateurs.8 In a 12/7 meeting with the Quebec City Consul
General, Montreal PAO and FSN Assistant, Vandal noted that
the perpetrators of the action had placed explosives at the
base of an electricity transmission line pylon which was one
of several in a straight line that is part of the
Radisson-Sandy Point, Massachusetts direct current
transmission line. But the explosion caused no noticeable
break in power transmission, because the line itself was not
damaged. Vandal said that a more knowledgable or determined
actor would have caused much more damage by attacking a
transmission substation or a more vulnerable part of the
pylon.


2. (U) The security incident, which is being investigated by
the provincial Quebec police, the Surete du Quebec, has
generated some media coverage, particularly after news
organizations in Quebec and elsewhere received an email claim
of responsibility (in French) on Saturday evening (12/4)
signed by a group calling itself &l,Initiative de
Resistance Internationaliste8 (IRI).


3. (U) An excerpt of the email, which was sent from a Yahoo
account, published in the media, translates: This sabotage
action, that the democratic authorities hid from the
population during the visit of the Dictator in Chief is our
response to the ease with which the State mocks the popular
opposition(. By this operation, we are concretely displaying
our refusal to be passive witnesses of the waste and pillage
of resources to profit from the United States empire. We are
acting against our gross exploitation by Hydro Quebec for the
benefit of private enterprises who profit from each
opportunity that imperialism provides.8


4. (U) In addition to Quebec media outlets, the email
reportedly was sent to international news organizations
including the New York Times and al-Jazeera. The message
referenced the situations in Iraq, Bolivia, Colombia and the
Middle East: &We refuse to allow all the weight of
resistance to fall on the noble Iraqi people, who are being
massacred because they were an obstacle to the American
energy hegemony, or to the Bolivian peasants courageously
mobilizing against the pillage of their gas resources, even
risking their lives. We also refuse to let the Colombian and
Palestinian people confront the imperial army alone, whether
or not it is hidden behind a national banner.8


5. (C) Montreal Consulate DHS Senior Agent (MTL/DHS SA) has
learned from Surete du Quebec contacts and DHS Immigration
and Customs Enforcement colleagues that a hunter in the area
had reported the damage to Hydro Quebec, the provincial
electricity utility on November 28. The utility had last
checked the pylon on November 1, according to the SQ. The
hunter, apparently concerned that HQ was not taking action,
placed a second call on December 1, prompting HQ to ask the
Surete to investigate.


6. (C) At the request of MTL/DHS SA, the Derby Line border
port of entry Resident Agent in Charge (RAC) walked to the
damaged pylon (about a mile from the POE) on December 2 and
encountered SQ officers who were in the process of securing
the site. The RAC said that rocks had been used to hold the
explosives in place around each of the four pylon tower legs;
the blast apparently caused the central pole to move but not
fall.


7. (C) MTL/DHS SA has since heard from SQ contacts that the
perpetrators used 12 sticks of dynamite in the operation. SQ
investigators are questioning whether the so-called &IRI8
group claiming responsibility was actually involved in the
vandalism. So far, the SQ has learned that the email was
sent from a caf on St. Laurent street in Montreal; they
believe the sender was a young, highly-educated, Francophone,
female.


8. (C) Vandal said that in response to the incident, HQ has
raised its security levels to the utility,s equivalent of
Code ORANGE. In consultation with the North American
Electricity Reliability Council (NERC),presently chaired by
former HQ Chairman and CEO Richard Drouin, HQ is putting
special emphasis on the protection of substations. Vandal
said that the possibility of several pylons falling
simultaneously was not particularly worrisome as disruptions
to service could be quickly resolved. Pylons located on HQ
right-of-ways are relatively easy to approach and access.
Vandal said that an attack on a substation would be a much
greater cause for concern.
ALLEN
ALLEN