BE A GRUMPY MONKEY

In the event of a military occupation, the Grumpy Canuck Brigade and other resistance movements could move beyond protests and slogans and adopt Direct Action, including sabotage. While the movies tend to portray sabotage as blowing up bridges, we will discuss more indirect acts, such as power shutdowns.

Any invading force needs to establish bases for administration, laundry, food, and maintenance services, as well as for fueling vehicles and powering up communication and logistics sites. All these sites run on power, and they need lots of it. While generators can and will provide power in some circumstances, the bulk of power will come from the existing power grid.

Power systems are complex, require continual upkeep, and are notorious for breakdowns at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons.

Quote - For example, during last month’s freak snowstorm, a local paper mill got a message that their local energy supplier was throttling back their natural gas supply to a trickle. Why? Because the power grid, already stretched thin, doesn’t have the capacity to handle large surges in demand when the shit hits the fan.

As the plant manager explained to me, “Any time we lose power in freezing temperatures, it’s a minimum of $1 million in repairs and $5 million in lost production.” In an industry with paper-thin margins, a few $6 million hiccups can be all it takes to transform a local factory from an economic backbone to a mothballed relic.

When a factory shuts down, a community craters. If a local restaurant or barber shop closes, another will usually open to take its place. But when a factory disappears, there’s no one left to support local retailers or fund the local tax base. It’s a vicious spiral that reminds us that a few frozen pipes at the local paper mill threaten us all.

This clearly demonstrates that the military’s reliance on clean, cheap electrical power is an Achilles heel. Burn down a hydro pole and cut the power. Shoot out a transformer, cut the power. Cut the supply of gasoline, and you cut their ability to transport material and troops. Cut the power off, and their field hospital must switch to diesel generators. If you have already cut off fuel supplies, those generators will not be able to run forever. The need for fuel will require them to arrange bulk fuel deliveries, creating an opportunity for sabotage targeting fuel tankers. A viscous circle.