Delta-Montrose Electric Association, a local electric cooperative serving western Colorado counties Delta and Montrose, said a cyberattack first detected on November 7, 2021 has disabled its billing systems and wiped out 20 to 25 years’ worth of historic data.
The attack affected the company’s phone, email, billing, and customer account systems, but DMEA said the power grid and fiber network were not touched during the attack.
“DMEA discovered a targeted effort to access portions of our internal network system by an unauthorized third party. As a result, DMEA lost 90% of internal network functions, and a good portion of our data, such as saved documents, spreadsheets, and forms, was corrupted. It also impacted our phones and emails. Our power grid and fiber network remain unaffected by the incident,” said the company statement on its website.
Member billing is expected by the company to be restored on the week of December 6 – 10, 2021.
DMEA has suspended all penalty fees and disconnections for non-payment through January 31, 2022.
Read more about it here.