German authorities are investigating two suspected acts of sabotage against critical electricity infrastructure within 24 hours, heightening security concerns days after Berlin accused Russia of involvement in an attempted drone attack and just before a closely watched state election.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Germany is investigating a second suspected act of sabotage against its electricity network within a 24-hour period, adding to growing concerns over threats to critical infrastructure as authorities remain on heightened alert for possible hybrid warfare.
Police said Wednesday that investigators were examining what they described as premeditated vandalism involving technical infrastructure at a power substation near the western city of Bergheim.
The incident occurred at approximately 1800 GMT Tuesday.
A police spokesperson declined to provide details about the specific damage but said electricity supplies in the surrounding region were not disrupted.
Grid operator Amprion, which is majority-owned by German energy producer RWE, said the incident was likely caused by outside interference.
Despite the disruption, Amprion said power supply and grid stability were maintained throughout the incident.
RWE separately said the event forced five lignite-fired power plant units with a combined generation capacity of approximately 4,200 megawatts to disconnect from the grid.
One 600-megawatt unit had since been returned to service, according to the company.
The Bergheim incident followed another attack Tuesday in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, where devices containing conductive material damaged power lines at one of the region’s most important high-voltage electricity nodes.
Authorities are now examining whether the incidents could be connected.
Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann said investigators had identified apparent similarities between the two cases, although he cautioned that both investigations remain at an early stage.
Redmann also noted differences between the Brandenburg incident and a 2024 arson attack attributed to far-left extremists that targeted the electricity supply serving Tesla’s German manufacturing plant.
He said authorities were not ruling out any potential suspects.
The attacks come amid a broader period of heightened security concern in Germany.
On Tuesday, the German government said it had concluded that Russia was responsible for an attempted drone attack last month targeting a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle airport.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that the attempted attack bore all the characteristics of state-sponsored terrorism.
Moscow has rejected accusations that it was responsible, saying there is no evidence supporting the German government’s claims.
German authorities nevertheless remain on elevated alert for potential attacks against vital infrastructure, including electricity networks, airports and other strategically important facilities.
The timing of the incidents has also drawn attention because Germany is approaching a state election this weekend in Saxony-Anhalt.
Alexander Throm, chairman of the German parliament’s domestic affairs committee, told Reuters that the number of disruptive incidents occurring immediately before the vote was “extremely suspicious.”
The election comes as the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, leads opinion polling in the state.
The anti-immigration party has particularly strong support in eastern Germany and could potentially take control of a state government for the first time.
The AfD has advocated closer relations between Germany and Moscow, including ending German support for Ukraine and restoring energy arrangements with Russia.
Before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, those agreements supplied Germany with comparatively inexpensive Russian oil and natural gas.
Those energy flows were subsequently halted as relations between Moscow and Berlin deteriorated sharply following the invasion.
The combination of suspected infrastructure sabotage, allegations involving Russia and a politically significant state election has intensified scrutiny of what German officials increasingly describe as hybrid threats.
Such threats can involve activities falling short of conventional military attacks, including sabotage, cyber operations, covert influence, disruption of infrastructure and other efforts intended to destabilize or pressure another country.
Germany’s electricity system presents a particularly difficult security challenge because critical grid assets are spread throughout the country and cannot be completely protected against determined attackers.
Leonhard Birnbaum, chief executive of E.ON, Europe’s largest network operator, warned last month that completely securing energy infrastructure against sabotage is unrealistic.
Operators can make attacks considerably more difficult to carry out, Birnbaum said, but cannot eliminate the risk entirely.
Tuesday’s incidents have renewed calls for stronger protection of Germany’s critical infrastructure.
“Just a few weeks ago, we were discussing our airports at length; now, the focus has shifted back to energy supply facilities,” Redmann said.
The investigations must now determine who was responsible for the two electricity-grid incidents, whether they were coordinated and whether either case is connected to broader foreign or domestic efforts to disrupt German infrastructure.
For now, authorities have not publicly attributed either power-grid incident to a specific perpetrator.
The cases nevertheless add to an increasingly tense security environment in Germany, where officials are simultaneously confronting suspected sabotage, allegations of foreign interference, threats against transportation and energy systems, and a politically consequential election in which relations with Russia have become a central dividing issue.
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