Germany probes suspected sabotage after disruption at 2 power substations

BERLIN (AP) — Two incidents that disrupted power distribution systems in the west and east of Germany are being investigated as possible sabotage, authorities said Wednesday, while one of them was also being examined for possible terrorism links.

Multiple explosive devices were found Tuesday morning at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg in northeast Germany. No general power outage resulted, but only one of the devices caused short circuits, authorities said.

Brandenburg police said later on Wednesday on X that it had also launched an investigation into the formation of a terrorist organization “in conjunction with causing an explosion involving explosives and the destruction of important work equipment.”

The interior minister of Brandenburg state said that “at this time, we cannot rule out any perpetrators.”

“What we are currently experiencing is a hybrid threat, and in that regard, we cannot rule out the possibility that foreign powers are behind it,” Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann told public broadcaster ARD.

Germany is on high alert after the government on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 using a drone laden with explosives.

Emergency responders were on the scene Wednesday searching the area for additional evidence, police said, leading to some road closures. Investigators were combing through the area in large groups, searching the ground for possible clues.

Officials described the explosive devices as similar to fireworks, saying that only one of more than a dozen “rocketlike objects equipped with a propellant charge” reached its target. One projectile managed to carry a cable into the high-voltage power line to establish a conductive connection to the ground, the German news agency dpa reported.

In a separate incident, a short circuit that caused several power lines to go out of service Tuesday evening at the Bergheim power substation near Cologne in western Germany was a deliberate act, security officials said Wednesday, adding there was no general power outage.

RWE, the company operating coal power plants at the Bergheim substation, said five coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts were taken offline after the incident.

“It wasn’t a broken switch, it was intentional. It was a criminal act,” said Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Bergheim is located. “We are investigating two possibilities: sabotage directed by a foreign government and left-wing extremism. We cannot rule out either possibility at this time.”

“There were bright flashes of light visible along the power lines, the overhead wires. In German, that’s called a short circuit. Several lines were affected,” Reul told reporters Tuesday night.

He added that based on the investigation's current status, “the perpetrators deliberately caused a short circuit by placing conductive material — presumably cables — over the overhead line.”

Security officials from both regions were in contact and closely checking for possible connections between the Brandenburg and Bergheim incidents, Reul said.

“Is this connected to Brandenburg, to the attacks on the railways, to hybrid threats from abroad?” Reul said in response to a question. “The answer is: We are investigating, and very thoroughly at that. But investigating is not the same as knowing, and speculation is not proof.”

Three power plants are expected to go back online later on Wednesday. Work is underway to bring the two remaining units back online by the weekend.

German power infrastructure has previously been affected under similar circumstances. Suspected left-wing extremists set fire to high-voltage lines near a power plant in southwest Berlin in January.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw.