A person commits an offense by intentionally or knowingly damaging, destroying, vandalizing, or impairing a critical infrastructure facility without the owner’s or operator’s effective consent, and causing an extended power outage.
Sec. 28.09. DAMAGING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY. (a) In this section: (1) "Critical infrastructure facility" means an electrical power generating facility, substation, switching station, electrical control center, or electrical transmission or distribution facility. (2) "Cyber attack" means an attempt to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to a computer, computer network, or computer system. (3) "Drone" has the meaning assigned by Article 2B.0253, Code of Criminal Procedure. (4) "Explosive weapon" has the meaning assigned by Section 28.03. (5) "Extended power outage" means a power outage: (A) lasting for two hours or more; or (B) affecting 1,000 or more meters used to measure electric energy consumption by retail customers. (6) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.01. (b) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner or operator of a critical infrastructure facility, the person: (1) intentionally or knowingly damages, destroys, vandalizes, or impairs the function of any critical infrastructure facility; and (2) as a result of the conduct described by Subdivision (1), causes an extended power outage. (c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if: (1) the amount of pecuniary damage to the critical infrastructure facility is $100,000 or more; or (2) the actor uses a firearm, drone, cyber attack, or explosive weapon in the commission of the offense. (d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1146 (S.B. 947), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023. Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 204 (H.B. 1620), Sec. 17.002, eff. September 1, 2025.