Germany Probes Suspected Attack on Power Substation

Police are investigating the deliberate damage to a substation near the western German town of Bergheim. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, but it did not disrupt the power supply in the region.

Investigators have not yet specified the extent of the damage. The transmission system operator Amprion suspects external interference, though grid stability and power supply remained unaffected.

Nevertheless, the energy company RWE shut down the lignite-fired units at the Neurath and Niederaussem power plants, which have a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts. They are expected to be gradually brought back online over the next few days. The company is cooperating with the authorities and with Amprion.

On the same day, power lines in the eastern German state of Brandenburg were also damaged by devices containing conductive material.

German authorities remain on high alert due to threats against strategic facilities. On Tuesday, Berlin attributed to Russia an August attempt to carry out a drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at the Leipzig/Halle airport and announced retaliatory measures.

(Reuters, bak)