In southwest Berlin, almost 28 000 households have been without electricity for the fourth day in a row after a cable bridge was set on fire.
This is reported by the German media Frankfurter Allgemeine and Radio Liberty.
Initially, 45 000 households and 2 200 businesses were left without power, some of which have already been reconnected. As of now, 27 800 households and approximately 1 450 commercial customers are without power.
City authorities estimate that around 100 000 people in total have been or continue to be affected by the blackout. A state of emergency was declared in Berlin on Sunday.
According to energy experts, the restoration of power supply is progressing slowly. The network operator Stromnetz Berlin predicts that the power will be fully restored no earlier than Thursday, January 8, in the afternoon.
Until then, thousands of people are living in cold and dark apartments. Some residents have moved to hotels, while others warm up during the day at aid stations where they can eat, drink hot drinks and charge their phones.
The Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, has been called in to help with emergency generators. Police are patrolling the area around the clock, with about 300 law enforcement officers involved.
Due to the blackout, Ukrainian refugees in Berlin organized a "Point of Invincibility" for locals, where they can warm up, drink tea, and charge their gadgets, Radio Liberty writes. The building of the Ukrainian-German center AdlerA eV is connected to another power line, so there is light there.
Ukrainian Oksana Orel says that for Germans, the sudden power outage was very stressful — some even thought it was a Russian attack. She said she was sharing her experience with them, telling them that a few days without electricity is difficult, but not the end of the world.
- On the morning of January 3, a fire damaged key power cables on the bridge over the Teltow Canal leading to the Lichterfelde power plant. The Vulkangruppe group claimed responsibility for the arson, saying it was acting against “energy greed” and the influence of big tech companies.
- Authorities are calling the arson an act of terrorism. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the attack was well-planned and shows the return of left-wing terrorism in Germany.
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