Berlin’s mayor has called for improved protection of the German capital’s critical infrastructure, two days after an arson attack on a power station left tens of thousands of residents without electricity, heat, and mobile phone connections.
The Attack and Its Impact
A blaze early on Saturday destroyed a cable duct over a canal in southwest Berlin. The attack cut power to approximately 45,000 households and more than 2,000 businesses, affecting prosperous areas including Zehlendorf and Wannsee. The far-left activist group Volcano, which opposes the energy industry’s use of fossil fuels, claimed responsibility for the arson.
The widespread outage had severe cascading effects, shutting down mobile phone connections, cutting heating during freezing weather, stopping trains, and forcing hospitals to switch to back-up generators.
Recovery Efforts and Official Response
As of Monday, electricity has been restored to about 14,500 households. However, the city’s network operator, Stromnetz Berlin, stated that full restoration is not expected until Thursday afternoon. Bernhard Büllmann, head of Stromnetz Berlin, explained that restoring power to the remaining areas is a complex operation involving high-tension lines that requires specialist staff.
In response to the incident, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner told a news conference, “There will be talks which we have to have with the federal government about how we can better protect our critical infrastructure, especially in the area of the capital.”
Context of Left-Wing Militancy
The domestic intelligence agency’s most recent annual report identified left-wing militancy as a growing danger and made explicit reference to the Volcano group. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt echoed this concern in an interview with the Bild newspaper, stating, “Left-wing terrorism is back in Germany with increasing intensity.”
The Volcano group has claimed several attacks in Berlin and the neighboring Brandenburg region. In 2024, the group claimed responsibility for a suspected arson attack on a power pylon near Tesla’s car factory outside Berlin.
Broader Security Concerns
The incident occurs at a time when Germany and other Western powers have been on alert for sabotage attacks on power, communications, and transport systems amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty.
