It used to be called a power outage, today it's called - blackout. There is no internet, mobile networks are down. Traffic lights are not working, shops, ATMs...
Everyday life is so disrupted that this scenario is the plot of numerous series and movies on platforms like Netflix. And without electricity and internet - there is none Netflix.
It is this modern horror that is taking place in several districts of the German metropolis Sedan. Without electricity, but also heating at temperatures around zero - the southwest of the capital, at least 45.000 households and about 2.200 companies, remained. Traffic is disrupted - both on the roads through the affected parts of the city, as well as the traffic of city and regional trains. In the shops that are open - payment is made in cash.
Germany Berlin BlackoutPhoto: Christoph Gollnow/dpa via AP
It started in the early hours of the morning on Saturday (January 3) due to a fire on power cables over the local Teltov water canal.
The fire on the cable bridge not only interrupted the electricity supply, but also caused the interruption of the district heating system in the affected districts. Even in buildings that are not heated by the district heating plant, most modern gas or oil boilers require electricity to operate the pumps and control systems, so those households were also left without heating.
Affected hospitals, homes for the elderly, schools, kindergartens...
Several nursing homes and hospitals in the Zellendorf district were affected. Some nursing home residents were transferred to other locations in the city.
To top it all off, Berlin was hit with snow over the weekend. Police said: "Use cell phones sparingly. Think of the elderly or those who need help and offer it. For evening hours, have flashlights or other battery-powered lights ready."
Germany Berlin BlackoutDarkness in metro stations / Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP
At the beginning of the week, schools and kindergartens remain closed.
The affected parts of Berlin are gradually returning first to the district heating network, then to the electricity network. Late Sunday evening, 31.000 households and 1700 companies were still without electricity and partly without heating.
Officials expect the situation to normalize everywhere by Thursday afternoon (January 8).
Against the "imperialist way of life"
The police started an investigation, convinced that the fire was arson. A letter appeared from the little-known "Volcano Group" attributed to the radical left-green milieu.
Germany Berlin BlackoutEvacuation of residents of a home for the elderly in Berlin / Photo: Michael Ukas/dpa via AP
It described the act of sabotage as a "necessary defense" against the "imperialist way of life" of the Global North and an act of "international solidarity with all who protect Earth and life" by fighting against fossil fuels. They state that they ruled out the possibility of anyone getting hurt because of their action and apologized to "less wealthy people" for the inconvenience.
Police consider the letter credible and authentic, a police spokeswoman said.
At first, there were 160 police officers with a bunch of drones in the search. It is not yet known how the prosecution will qualify the act, but it is possible that it will be considered an act of terrorism.
With similar motives and in a similar manner, another part of Berlin was left without electricity in September. Even then, fifty thousand households were affected.
Germany Berlin BlackoutRed Cross volunteers are preparing temporary accommodation for Berlin residents who lost electricity / Photo: Christoph Gollnow/dpa via AP
It is not known who is behind the "Volcano Group", which the police classify as left-wing extremists, nor how many members it has and how it is organized.
They are credited with a series of sabotages in the last fifteen years, they targeted railway infrastructure, power lines and even a gigantic factory of an American car manufacturer. Tesla near Berlin.
"It is unacceptable that clearly left-wing extremists are once again attacking the power grid and thereby endangering human lives," said Christian Democrat mayor Kai Wegner.
The city's senator of the interior, social democrat Iris Spranger, called the sabotage "an attack on Berlin women and men."
Germany an easy target?
Germany Berlin BlackoutGas plant in Berlin / Photo: AP Photo/Michael Sohn
On Tuesday, the vulnerability of Germany's critical infrastructure is again widely discussed in the press, a topic that has been returning again and again since a group of Ukrainian commandos blew up legs of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
The perpetrators now apparently easily caused a short circuit under the metal structure of the bridge that serves to bring the cables from the nearby Lichterfelde power station to the other side of the canal.
"The hit to Berlin's power grid is a warning sign," writes a local Berliner Berliner Morgenpost. "Important parts of the infrastructure in Germany are too weakly protected against attack or sabotage."
Against that, writes the author of the comment, the citizen himself can do little. But something can - have supplies and flashlights ready.
Source: DPA, RTR, DLF, MP
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