In Bergheim near Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) sees an “initial suspicion of anti-constitutional sabotage.” Unknown individuals had placed cables over the overhead lines, causing a short circuit. “That was intentional. Whoever does that is attacking our country,” the CDU politician added. According to him, investigators are pursuing two leads: foreign-directed sabotage and left-wing extremism.
Police were called to the Amprion substation in Bergheim on Tuesday at around 8 p.m. after bright flashes of light were seen. According to Economy Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens), five lignite power plant blocks in the Rhenish mining area had to be taken offline. However, the power supply was never at risk. The first block was reconnected on Wednesday morning, but full restart could take until the weekend.
In the eastern German state of Brandenburg, emergency services found several improvised explosive and incendiary devices at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal power plant on Tuesday. One of them is said to have detonated, causing a “brief interruption of the power line.” The public prosecutor’s office is investigating on suspicion of forming a terrorist organization and causing an explosion. Investigators in the affected states are in contact, according to the State Criminal Police Office of Baden-Württemberg.
The Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) called for better protection of critical infrastructure in response to the recent attacks. “It can happen to us anywhere at any time,” said Managing Director Ingbert Liebing. The federal government wants to enforce stricter requirements for operators with the KRITIS umbrella law, which came into force in March.
Source: www.dw.com
