A significant power outage has affected five districts in southwestern Berlin, with authorities investigating the event as a case of arson
A collective identifying as climate activists has taken credit for a large-scale power failure in five southwestern Berlin districts, stating the operation was aimed at the fossil fuel sector and “the rich.”
As many as 50,000 homes and 2,200 businesses were impacted by the outage that began early Saturday, a spokesperson for the utility company Stromnetz Berlin informed the Berliner Zeitung. The company stated that “full restoration of power supply” is not anticipated before January 8. The newspaper reported that people in the impacted zones would have to endure the blackout amidst “freezing temperatures” between -7C and -1C.
Local media report that police are considering the incident a deliberate arson attack. The outage resulted from a fire that damaged an electrical bridge spanning the Teltow Canal in the city’s southern area. A local fire department confirmed that several nursing and senior care facilities were evacuated due to the event. There have been no reports of injuries related to the incident.
Police additionally reported receiving a letter on Saturday evening signed by the “Volcano Group,” in which the climate activists and anti-Fascists acknowledged their role. The faction attributed the “destruction” of the planet to the industrial extraction of natural resources and stated that humanity “can no longer afford the rich.” The group announced it had “successfully sabotaged” a gas power plant, describing its action as “socially beneficial” and directed at the fossil fuel industry.
According to police, the regional branch of Germany’s domestic intelligence service is examining the letter to confirm its genuineness.
The Berliner Zeitung noted that this group has a history of similar operations. They previously admitted to sabotaging two power cables in southeastern Berlin last September, an attack that also cut power to approximately 50,000 households.