Explosives used in sabotage attack on German power lines
Rockets carrying conductive material trigger short circuits at the Brandenburg substation, while 50Hertz says general electricity supply stays unaffected.
People walk in a field past pylons and power lines outside Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on Aug 28, 2026. Several electricity lines were damaged after a sabotage attack near a coal-fired power plant in Germany on Sep 1, 2026. (File photo: AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev)
BERLIN: Improvised explosive devices were used on Tuesday (Sep 1) in a sabotage attack in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, with several electricity lines damaged and supply briefly interrupted, police and a grid operator said.
Several makeshift bombs were found around 8am (2pm, Singapore time) at the Preilack substation, which distributes power from the nearby Jaenschwalde plant, a police spokeswoman told AFP.
The power grid attack adds to a list of incidents causing Germany to consider how to better protect critical infrastructure from what officials have called a growing threat from cyber and hybrid attacks.
The substation is one of the region's most critical high-voltage nodes, connecting Brandenburg's largest power plant, Jaenschwalde, to the 50Hertz transmission grid.
Rockets carrying conductive material were fired into extra-high-voltage lines, causing two short circuits, Interior Minister Jan Redmann said at a press conference.
He added that authorities were searching the site, and the number of devices found, in the double digits, was still rising.
Redmann did not rule out the possibility that foreign powers were behind the attack, nor did he exclude left-wing activists, who have been involved in previous attacks on power structures.
The rockets were specially designed and, unlike typical celebratory fireworks, he said, with setup requiring significant work.
There was a brief power cut, but all power lines are back in operation, and the general electricity supply was never affected, grid operator 50Hertz said in a statement.
Adi Roesch, CEO of LEAG, the power plant operator, said the act caused a spontaneous shutdown at one unit at the power plant that was expected to be restored by Tuesday evening.
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS PROTECTION
"When it comes to our critical infrastructure, we in Germany are far too vulnerable," said Redmann, adding that the vulnerability also extended to airports.
There have been several arson attacks in and around Berlin in recent times, with far-left militants often claiming responsibility.
In January, an electricity outage left tens of thousands of homes and thousands of businesses without power for nearly a week in the middle of winter in the southwest of the German capital.
The far-left "Vulkangruppe" (Volcano Group) claimed responsibility for the arson attack on high-voltage cables that caused that blackout.
It also claimed to be behind two sabotage attacks targeting a Tesla electric car factory just outside Berlin.
Germany, a major supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia, is also on high alert for sabotage and espionage plots linked to Moscow.
Germany blamed Russia on Tuesday for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport last month and ordered a series of measures in response.
Russia has previously dismissed accusations about its possible involvement in the airport incident as a "fabricated provocation."
