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Reutlingen power outage: Electricity for businesses to resume by Wednesday
🇩🇪 Germany /Energy & Infrastructure

Reutlingen power outage: Electricity for businesses to resume by Wednesday

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Power supply to industrial and commercial customers in Reutlingen is expected to be fully restored by Wednesday following a fire at a substation.
  • The operator, Netze BW, stated that while power will be back, repairing the total damage will take weeks or months and cost millions of euros.
  • The fire on Monday affected approximately 7,600 buildings and 40,000 people, with authorities investigating a potential accelerant at the scene.

Power is set to return to businesses in Reutlingen by Wednesday, according to operator Netze BW, after a fire at a substation caused a widespread outage. "Hopefully, full supply will be restored tomorrow," said Richard Huber, head of system-wide infrastructure at Netze BW.

Hopefully, full supply will be restored tomorrow.

— Richard HuberHead of system-wide infrastructure at Netze BW, commenting on the expected timeline for power restoration.

While customers can anticipate the return of electricity, the full repair of the damage will be a lengthy process, potentially taking "weeks or even months," Huber explained. The financial cost of these repairs is still unquantifiable but is expected to run into "millions of euros."

The substation fire, which occurred during the night of Monday, impacted around 7,600 buildings and an estimated 40,000 residents. Authorities have secured a potential accelerant at the fire site and are investigating the cause, though no political motive has been identified so far.

The total damage to fix will still take weeks or even months.

— Richard HuberHead of system-wide infrastructure at Netze BW, explaining the long-term repair process after the substation fire.

Huber noted that the Reutlingen substation was neither exceptionally large nor unusual in its design. Security measures, such as cameras, are continuously adapted to potential threats and extreme weather events, with the level of security tiered according to the importance of the facility and the potential impact of an outage.

It is expected to be millions of euros.

— Richard HuberHead of system-wide infrastructure at Netze BW, estimating the cost of repairs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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