Germany: Suspect object found near power substation after two suspected attacks

A suspicious object found near a power substation in western Germany has added to a series of suspected acts of sabotage targeting the country’s electricity infrastructure. Police said the object caused no damage and had been secured, but its possible capacity to cause harm remained unclear.

A passerby found the object on Thursday evening near a transformer station in Dormagen, west of the country. The discovery came two days after two other incidents at electrical facilities. At Jänschwalde in eastern Germany, homemade explosives were fired early Tuesday at a site distributing electricity from a coal-fired power plant. Police opened an anti-terror investigation.

In Bergheim, near Cologne, unknown perpetrators deliberately caused a short circuit at an Amprion substation by targeting overhead cables. The Dormagen and Bergheim substations are about 15 kilometers apart.

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comparable indications that needed to be examined carefully

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said authorities were examining a possible connection between the Bergheim and Jänschwalde incidents. The head of Cologne’s criminal police said investigators had found “comparable indications that needed to be examined carefully,” adding that pyrotechnic devices appeared to have been fired at both sites.

Neither attack caused a large-scale power outage, although nearby power plants were disrupted. Germany has faced repeated attacks on energy infrastructure in recent months, including fires claimed by far-left activists. Berlin has seen several such incidents. Germany also says it has faced sabotage plans linked to Moscow, an allegation the Kremlin categorically denies.

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On both sites, it appears that pyrotechnic devices were fired