Around 300,000 kilometers of above-ground power lines and around 300 substations for high-voltage electricity: the attack surface that the German electricity infrastructure offers is large. In recent years there have been repeated attacks on the power supply in Germany. An overview:
Munich, May 21, 2021
After an arson attack on exposed power lines, around 20,000 households in Munich are cut off from electrical energy supplies, some for more than a day. According to a letter of responsibility published on the radical left-wing platform Indymedia, the attack was aimed at a Munich company that produces, among other things, remote and signaling technology for military aviation.
GrĂŒnheide, March 5, 2024
The left-wing extremist âTurn off Tesla Volcano Group!â sets fire to a power pole near the Tesla factory in GrĂŒnheide. The attack leads to a widespread power outage. âWe sabotaged Tesla,â the activists wrote in a letter of responsibility. The goal was the âlargest possible blackoutâ in the car factory. Production at the plant came to a complete standstill for days.
Duisburg-DĂŒsseldorf route, July 31, 2025
An important north-south axis of Deutsche Bahn is paralyzed on the Duisburg-DĂŒsseldorf route by cable fires that are believed to have been intentionally caused and remains closed for two days. The police assume sabotage. A letter of confession from the left-wing radical spectrum is classified as probably authentic.
Koblenz, September 1, 2025
Unknown people remove the cover of a cable shaft in Koblenz and flex a high-voltage cable about five centimeters thick. This results in a short circuit, a flash flame and a cable fire. The damage was only discovered three weeks later, after repeated voltage fluctuations on the railway line between Neuwied and Koblenz. Rail traffic is not interrupted by automatic replacement power supply to the power line.
Berlin, September 9, 2025
Two tall electricity pylons are set on fire in Berlin during the night. At times, around 50,000 private households and around 2,000 commercial businesses are affected, sometimes for days. According to a letter of responsibility that the police classified as authentic, the attack targeted technology companies and research institutions in the areas of information technology, robotics, bio- and nanotechnology, space travel, and the security and defense industry in Adlerhof, one of Germany's largest technology parks. The letter is signed âSome Anarchistsâ.
Berlin, January 3, 2026
An arson attack triggers the longest blackout in Berlin's post-war history. Suspected left-wing extremist perpetrators cut power lines near a power plant in southwest Berlin. Around 45,000 households, 2,200 shops and companies as well as hospitals and nursing homes are without power for days and without heating in the middle of winter. Around 100,000 people are affected. The city declares a so-called major damage situation and asks the Bundeswehr for administrative assistance. The âvolcano groupsâ claim responsibility for the attack, and the Federal Prosecutorâs Office is taking over the investigation.
Reutlingen, June 8, 2026
A fire in the Reutlingen-West substation causes the plant to fail. At times around 40,000 households and 7,600 buildings are affected. Just one day later, the Stuttgart Public Prosecutor's Office spoke of arson. The substation fence shows clear damage after the fire, and the LKA finds evidence of several fires starting at the same time. The perpetrators used car tires as a means of fire. Investigators believe an extremist background is likely. A letter of responsibility will not be published.
Bergheim and JĂ€nschwalde, September 1, 2026
According to authorities, cables are brought over the overhead line at a substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne, which causes a short circuit. There is a power outage in several power plant blocks at the neighboring NiederauĂem coal-fired power plant - the blocks had switched off automatically. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said after the incident: âThere is initial suspicion of unconstitutional sabotage.â Both sabotage directed by a foreign state and a left-wing extremist background could be considered. âWe canât rule out any of this at the moment,â says Reul.
A few hours earlier there was an attempted attack with a similar approach in Brandenburg. Near the JĂ€nschwalde power plant, conductive material is directed towards the high-voltage lines with the help of self-made missiles that resembled New Year's Eve rockets. More than a dozen launch devices are subsequently found. According to the network operator, there will be no power outage.
Dormagen, September 3, 2026
There is another attempted sabotage at a substation in Dormagen between Cologne and DĂŒsseldorf. A walker finds launchers late Thursday evening. According to information from the F.A.Z. The device should be similar to those from Bergheim and JĂ€nschwalde. In at least two letters of confession, which were also published by the F.A.Z. the author mentions several acts in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg. In one of them he states that he wants to take action against the fossil energy industry.
