Attack on Berlin power grid: Investigations continue half a year later

German federal prosecutors continue to investigate a suspected far-left extremist arson attack that caused a major power outage in southwest Berlin on January 3. The incident left 100,000 people in 45,000 households and over 2,000 businesses without electricity for days, impacting heating for many.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe has not provided further details on the ongoing investigation. A reward of one million euros was offered for information leading to the perpetrators of the attack on the power grid, but the deadline for submissions expired at the end of February without any publicly known success. Authorities reported receiving a three-digit number of tips, but many were deemed unusable.

The investigation was taken over by federal prosecutors due to the assumption of a link to far-left extremism. The attack is attributed to "Vulkan groups," a designation under which authorities are investigating multiple sabotage actions. General Federal Prosecutor Jens Rommel noted the difficulty in solving such cases, citing the broad attack surface of German infrastructure, the potential for high damage with minimal effort, and the conspiratorial methods of the perpetrators that leave few traces.

Power was fully restored to all affected areas by January 7. The incident marked the longest power outage in post-war German history. The investigation remains active, with authorities seeking to identify those responsible for the significant disruption.