Power-grid sabotage in Germany targets a critical “nerve center”

A short circuit at an electrical substation near Cologne has triggered an investigation into suspected sabotage of critical infrastructure. Police say the incident briefly knocked five power-generating units offline, although it did not cause major power outages.

The incident began with bright flashes on overhead power lines at the substation in Bergheim on Tuesday evening. Investigators believe an unknown attacker attached a conductive object, probably a wire, to a fence and launched it against the lines.

Police found six launch devices in a nearby cornfield. According to Cologne chief prosecutor Ulrich Bremer, pyrotechnic objects may have been used to carry the wire over the power lines. Investigators are examining the devices for DNA and are analyzing telecommunications data from people who were near the site at the time.

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We classify the act as an attack on critical infrastructure.

Authorities are also looking for possible links to a similar attack on the power grid in southern Brandenburg. Cologne criminal director Michael Esser said investigators had no indications yet of specific suspects or a clear motive. Prosecutors are examining the case as suspected anti-constitutional sabotage.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said authorities were considering two possible directions, foreign-state-directed sabotage and left-wing extremism. “A substation is a nerve center for our everyday lives. Whoever attacks one is attacking our country,” he said. Security measures were increased at other power-generating sites while police secured evidence.

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A substation is a nerve center for our everyday lives. Whoever attacks one is attacking our country.