NRW und Brandenburg: Angriffe auf Stromversorgung - Ermittlungen wegen Sabotage

In an attack on the power grid in South Brandenburg, investigators suspect that the disruption to an overhead line substation in Bergheim, near Cologne, was also the result of constitutionally hostile sabotage. Unknown individuals brought down cables on the overhead lines, causing a short circuit, said NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).

"That was intentional. Whoever is doing this attacks our country." Two attacks within a two-day period in Brandenburg, one on Tuesday morning, sought to disrupt power supply near the Turnow-Preilack substation close to the Jänschwalde power plant. According to Interior Minister Jan Redmann (CDU), individuals used homemade rockets resembling fireworks to launch conductive material towards high-voltage lines.

The disruption occurred in the evening, with no power outages reported in either Brandenburg or NRW. The extent of the impact on the general power supply remains unclear, and whether there is a connection between the incidents is still open. Reul stated that two avenues are being investigated: externally coordinated sabotage and leftist extremism.

The investigators are also looking deeper into the fire at a substation in Reutlingen in June, which resulted in around 7,600 buildings and approximately 40,000 people being temporarily without power. The investigators are assuming arson. Previous federal saboteur attempts have been attributed to arson. NRW's Interior Minister Redmann said, "We had a terrible luck."

In Brandenburg, only one out of more than a dozen "rocket-like objects" reached its target, but without any consequences as in Berlin early this year, where a fire attack on a cable bridge caused a large-scale power outage affecting tens of thousands of people. The investigators are investigating the incident in Brandenburg under suspicion of forming a terrorist organization.

The substation affected is considered one of the most relevant in Germany. In NRW, five coal-fired power plant blocks were taken off the grid, but the power supply was not affected generally, and system stability was ensured by Amprion, the energy distributor.