A major power outage has affected five districts in southwestern Berlin, with police investigating the incident as a suspected arson attack. The blackout, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, has left up to 50,000 households and 2,200 commercial entities without electricity, according to the local electricity provider, Stromnetz Berlin. The affected areas are expected to remain without power until at least January 8, with residents facing freezing temperatures ranging from -7C to -1C.
The outage was caused by a fire that damaged a power bridge over the Teltow Canal in the southern part of the city. Several nursing homes and elderly care centers were evacuated as a precaution, but no casualties have been reported. The police are treating the incident as a targeted attack and are reviewing a letter from a group calling itself the “Volcano Group,” which claims responsibility for the sabotage.
The group, which describes itself as climate activists and anti-fascists, stated that their action was aimed at the fossil fuel industry and “the rich.” They claimed that the extraction of natural resources is destroying the Earth and that humanity “can no longer afford the rich.” The group also said that their action was “socially beneficial” and that they had “successfully sabotaged” a gas power plant.
The regional office of the German domestic security service is verifying the authenticity of the letter. According to reports, the Volcano Group has carried out similar attacks in the past, including the sabotage of two power cables in southeastern Berlin in September, which left around 50,000 households without power.
The incident highlights the growing trend of climate activism and the increasingly disruptive tactics being used by some groups to draw attention to their cause. The use of sabotage and vandalism has raised concerns about public safety and the impact on critical infrastructure. The investigation into the Berlin power outage is ongoing, and authorities are working to restore power to the affected areas as soon as possible.