Around 45,000 households in Berlin were affected by a massive sabotage operation that left them in the dark and cold for days. In some places, electricity will not be available until Thursday. What happened and who is to blame for this?
The attack on a gas-fired power plant in the southwest of the German capital in the middle of winter was apparently well-planned. According to security services, the cables were deliberately set on fire on Saturday. The consequences: cold homes, unlit streets and homes, disrupted rail transport, lack of internet.
The power outage will last for days
Of the 45,000 households initially affected, two-thirds have no power or heating and will probably have to endure until Thursday due to the extensive damage - that's how long it will take for repairs. And that's in sub-zero temperatures.
Until then, those affected have no choice but to stay with friends and relatives or in emergency accommodation. Hospitals and nursing homes were evacuated, patients were moved. Many schools and kindergartens remained closed. The Berlin Senate announced today that it will cover the costs of those affected for overnight stays in certain partner hotels with preferential rates of 70 euros per double room per night. And people who live in rented accommodation will be able to reduce their rent depending on how much they have been affected, which in some cases will be up to 100%.
The group “Vulcan“ has taken responsibility
The responsibility for the attack on the gas power plant, which caused great damage, is being taken by the far-left group “Vulcan“. The police in Berlin believe that the letter received from the group is authentic. It is entitled “Let's turn the tap on the rulers“ and in it the group boasts that it “successfully sabotaged“ the gas power plant in the Lichterfelde district.
The left-wing extremists also explain what motives guided them: “Greed for energy is exhausting, sucking, burning, ravaging and destroying“. The aim of the operation was not to cut off power to people or to damage the energy sector, which uses fossil fuels. However, the sabotage could have even been life-threatening to many random people - for example, patients in hospitals, operating rooms and nursing homes, since in some places even medical equipment was disconnected from the network.
Domestic intelligence has long been monitoring “Vulcan“
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (domestic intelligence) has long been keeping an eye on the “Vulcan“ group, but has not yet revealed all of its personnel and organizational structures. It is assumed that its members operate in a decentralized manner. German domestic intelligence qualifies them as “prone to violence“.
“The so-called “Vulcan“ groups since 2011, they have periodically organized arson attacks on critical infrastructure sites in Berlin and Brandenburg - often with tangible consequences for the population, "writes a report by domestic intelligence.
Elon Musk's factory has been repeatedly affected
In recent years, many attacks have been launched against the companies of the "Tesla" concern in Germany - for example, in May 2021 against the factory in Grünheide near Berlin. And the sabotage with the most serious consequences was the destruction of a high-voltage pole in March 2024: the "Tesla" factory then it was forced to stop work, and the surrounding settlements were left without electricity for days.
And then the responsibility was taken by the group “Vulcan“, and the findings of the services are as follows: “The enterprise was attacked because, according to left-wing extremists, it is an element of a totalitarian system of government, which must be fought against because of its technological progress and the associated destruction of nature, as well as because of the oppression of people“.