BERLIN — German authorities are gradually restoring electricity to the capital after a devastating four-day blackout that left tens of thousands without power during freezing temperatures. The crisis began Saturday morning when a fire damaged high-voltage cables on a bridge spanning the Teltow Canal in southwest Berlin.
The outage affected approximately 100,000 people across 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses, marking the longest continuous power failure in Berlin since World War II. While many connections were progressively restored throughout the week, the affluent Zehlendorf district remained particularly impacted with 25,500 households and 1,200 businesses still without power as of Tuesday.
Investigators have identified a far-left group’s manifesto titled ‘Turning off the juice to the rulers’ claiming responsibility. The group stated they had ‘successfully sabotaged’ a gas-fired power plant in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district, emphasizing their action targeted the fossil-fuel industry rather than intentionally causing widespread blackouts.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency revealed that self-described ‘Volcano Groups’ have been conducting infrastructure attacks in Berlin and Brandenburg since 2011. A previous 2024 assault on a pylon supplying power to Tesla’s factory near Berlin temporarily suspended production.
The case has now been elevated to Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office, which is investigating charges of anticonstitutional sabotage, membership in a terrorist organization, and arson. The complexity of repairs required several days of intensive work by Berlin’s power network operators to fully restore service across the affected areas.