German police are investigating a suspected case of deliberate sabotage at a substation near the western town of Bergheim. The incident took place on Tuesday, 1 September, at 16:00 local time. According to the police and the operator Amprion, there were no interruptions to the power supply in the region and the stability of the grid was maintained.
Briefly about the main points
- The police are investigating damage to technical infrastructure near Bergheim.
- Amprion considers external interference to be the cause of the incident.
- The region’s power supply and the stability of the grid were not affected.
- RWE has temporarily shut down some of the units at Neurath and Niederaussem.
- In Brandenburg, power lines were damaged in several places.
RWE has temporarily taken some of its generation capacity offline
Amprion stated that the incident was likely caused by external interference. The company reported that both the electricity supply and the stable operation of the grid were maintained throughout the incident.
Following the incident, the energy company RWE temporarily took the lignite-fired power units at Neurath and Niederaußem, with a combined capacity of 4,200 MW, off the grid. The company expects to reconnect them over the coming days and is liaising with the authorities and Amprion.
Power lines have been damaged in Brandenburg
On the same day, in the eastern region of Brandenburg, devices containing conductive material damaged power lines.
The German authorities are on high alert due to the risk of attacks on critical infrastructure. The country’s power grid has already been targeted; in some previous cases, left-wing militants were suspected, but this does not mean they are involved in the current incidents.
