On the morning of January 3, 2026, a large-scale power outage occurred in the southwestern part of Berlin, affecting districts such as Nikolassee, Wannsee, Zehlendorf, and Lichterfelde. The outage began shortly before 6 a.m. and was caused by a fire in a cable bridge over the Teltow Canal, which damaged multiple cables leading to a nearby power plant. Additionally, a distribution station on Bremer Straße caught fire, leading to investigations under suspected arson. Approximately 50,000 households and over 2,000 commercial customers were impacted, with traffic signals failing and critical facilities like nursing homes requiring emergency assistance including patient relocation by fire services. Initially, Stromnetz Berlin estimated the outage would be resolved by 6:30 p.m., but the indefinite delay increased concerns. The incident resembled a September 2025 blackout prompted by a politically motivated arson attack. Emergency protocols included police presence with around 160 officers investigating, and collaboration between district authorities, technical relief organizations, and the fire brigade to mitigate impacts. Residents were advised to care for vulnerable neighbors and avoid indoor use of gas heaters. Telecommunications were also disrupted in some areas, complicating emergency communications. Recovery efforts extended over several days, with official responses highlighting the scale of resources mobilized and plans for legislative reviews of crisis management and infrastructure resilience.
Category: Energy & Infrastructure Attacks
Subcategory: Critical Infrastructure Sabotage
Incident Type: Power grids, pipelines
Country: Germany
Source report: www.tagesschau.de/inland/re…
