Search continues for suspect in attacks on Germany’s power network

German police continued searching for a 48-year-old man suspected of sabotaging the country’s power network after explosives were found at his home and a special unit raided a truck in a forest near Niederzier. The truck appeared to have been converted into a motorhome, but the suspect was not there.

The incidents have centered on North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony, all areas where lignite is still mined and used to generate electricity. Two letters claiming responsibility were sent to several media organizations, including dpa. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the information in the letters showed “clear perpetrator knowledge.”

“

The information revealed in these letters is clear perpetrator knowledge.

Dobrindt said the suspected motive was very likely “climate terrorism” by a lone offender. One letter stated, “Generating electricity from fossil fuels is a crime.” North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul condemned attacks that could endanger hospitals, saying anyone who threatens the power supply in the name of climate protection does not save anything but puts lives at risk. “No ideology is a valid excuse,” Reul said.

“

Generating electricity from fossil fuels is a crime.

The first reported attack occurred Tuesday morning in southern Brandenburg, near the Jänschwalde power plant. According to dpa information, more than 20 homemade rockets directed conductive material toward high-voltage lines at the Turnow-Preilack substation. Two short circuits occurred, but the grid operator reported no power outage. Police are investigating, among other offenses, the formation of a terrorist organization.

That evening, a disturbance occurred at a substation in Bergheim near Cologne. Investigators found launch devices and pyrotechnics, and RWE Power said five lignite-fired plant units at Niederaußem and Neurath went offline. Several later returned to service, while one was expected to remain offline until the following week. The general electricity supply remained secure. A passerby later found suspected launch devices at a substation in Dormagen, between Cologne and Düsseldorf.

“

No ideology is a valid excuse.