Police discovered improvised explosive and incendiary devices at an electrical substation in the village of Turnow Preilack in Brandenburg. The facility is located near the large Jänschwalde coal fired power plant, close to the border with Saxony.

Around 8:00 a.m., possible damage to power lines was reported. Bomb squad technicians responded to the scene, criminal investigators collected evidence and the state criminal investigation office took over the investigation. According to the police, residents were not in any danger.

The daily newspaper Märkische Allgemeine, citing security and company sources, reported that emergency responders found and neutralized several devices containing rockets equipped with explosives. According to the newspaper, the substation was struck repeatedly and the possible goal was to cause a widespread power outage at the coal fired power plant.

Electricity generated in Jänschwalde is distributed to both regional and supraregional grids via the Preilack substation. The power plant was built between 1976 and 1989 as the last new power plant in the former German Democratic Republic.

In January, alleged left wing extremists set fire to high voltage power lines near Berlin, cutting off electricity to approximately 45,000 households and more than 2,200 businesses and companies. In March 2024, sabotage of a power pole brought production at the Tesla factory in Grünheide to a halt for several days.

(Welt, bak)