German authorities are investigating two separate incidents that disrupted power distribution systems in the country's west and east as possible acts of sabotage. The incidents occurred Tuesday and have prompted a heightened state of alert.
In Brandenburg, in northeast Germany, multiple explosive devices were discovered Tuesday morning at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant. While these devices did not cause a widespread power outage, some of them resulted in short circuits, according to officials.
Separately, a short circuit at the Bergheim power substation near Cologne in western Germany caused several power lines to go out of service Tuesday evening. Police investigating this incident stated that based on the current evidence, they believe it was a deliberate act rather than a technical defect.
RWE, a company that operates coal power plants using the Bergheim substation, reported that five of its coal-fired units, with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts, were taken offline. The company anticipates these units will be operational again by the weekend.
These events come amid heightened security concerns in Germany. The German government recently blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4. Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann suggested that foreign involvement could not be ruled out in the recent substation incidents, characterizing the situation as a "hybrid threat."