A suspected arson attack by left-wing extremists on Berlin’s power grid has left tens of thousands of residents without electricity and heating during a severe winter cold snap, local authorities said in a statement.
The outage began early Saturday morning after a fire broke out on a cable bridge over the Teltow Canal near the Lichterfelde gas-fired power plant. Stromnetz Berlin, the city’s grid operator, reported that more than 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses, including hospitals and care centres, were initially affected.
Grid operators do not expect power to be fully restored until Thursday.
A far-left group known as Vulkangruppe, or Volcano Group, claimed responsibility for the incident in a statement titled “Cutting Off The Power Of The Rulers.”
The group described the sabotage as an act of “self-defense” against the fossil fuel economy and the overexploitation of the earth, specifically referencing “Antifa” themes in the statement. While the group apologised to less affluent residents impacted by the blackout, they stated they had limited sympathy for the owners of villas in the affected wealthy southwest districts.
“Our action, which is oriented towards the common good, makes social sense,” they said.
“…The attack on the gas-fired power plant is an act of self-defense and international solidarity with all those who protect the earth and life. The infrastructures that serve ‘technological attack’ and promote the destruction of the Earth can be sabotaged. Fossil energy production can be stopped.”
Berlin police told local media that they consider the claim of responsibility to be plausible. The Vulkangruppe previously claimed responsibility for a 2024 arson attack that halted production at Tesla’s electric vehicle factory outside Berlin, describing Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a “techno-fascist”.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack, stating that the perpetrators had knowingly put lives at risk, particularly those of hospital patients, the elderly, and children. He characterised the incident as an act of left-wing extremism and called the endangerment of human lives “unacceptable.”
Franziska Giffey, the city’s Senator responsible for Economic Affairs, noted that the disruption extended to internet services, care facilities, and numerous social institutions.
The outage comes as the German capital experiences freezing temperatures and heavy snow, which authorities say have slowed efforts to repair the damaged infrastructure.
To assist those left without heating, the state has opened community centers and sports halls as emergency accommodation.
The Vulkangruppe statement argued that the infrastructure supporting the smart city vision and fossil energy production must be stopped to prevent environmental destruction. Despite their actions, the group denied the label of “eco-terrorists”.
This incident follows a similar pattern of infrastructure sabotage in the capital; authorities are currently comparing the attack to a power outage last September for which left-wing extremists also claimed responsibility.