Attacks on substations: police strengthen protection nationwide
Following two coordinated acts of sabotage on substations in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, hundreds of police officers are being deployed. Operators are relying on drones and private security services.
Nationwide security checks following sabotage at power grid
Following two attacks on substations in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, police authorities and grid operators have tightened their security measures nationwide. According to BILD, hundreds of police officers were deployed on Wednesday afternoon to inspect facilities and identify possible weak points.
On the outskirts of Dortmund, police were present with numerous officers at a substation operated by transmission network operator Amprion. In the Hamburg region, such as in Wedel (Schleswig-Holstein), emergency services searched forests and fields, whilst helicopters and drones secured the surroundings from the air.
Hamburg's police spokesman Christian Schreiber confirmed to BILD: "As part of our continuous precautions and in light of current events, we are conducting an inspection of relevant facilities." There were no concrete indications of imminent danger. According to BILD information, private security companies were deployed at several substations in parallel; regular drone flights are intended to detect sabotage early.
Rockets caused short circuit
On Tuesday, unknown perpetrators struck at two locations. First, suspects attempted to trigger a widespread power outage near the Jänschwalde power station in Brandenburg by attacking a substation. A few hours later, a similar incident occurred in Bergheim near Cologne: according to investigators, the perpetrators likely fired pyrotechnic rockets at a wire over a high-voltage power line, causing a short circuit. As a result, five brown coal power plant units operated by RWE were switched off. However, no major power outage occurred.
The Cologne public prosecutor's office is investigating on suspicion of sabotage directed against the constitutional order. The vital supply to the population had been put at risk.
Federal Public Prosecutor General could take over investigation
Brandenburg's Interior Minister Jan Redmann stated that evidence was mounting that both attacks were part of a coordinated assault on German energy supply. "It follows logically that the Federal Public Prosecutor General is examining whether to take over the investigation," said Redmann, and called for improved protection of critical infrastructure.
In RBB-Inforadio, he spoke out in favour of granting operators expanded powers in future — including drone defence and intelligent video surveillance. Currently, the protection of facilities relies mainly on technical measures, risk analyses, emergency and restart plans, and the obligation to report security incidents.
Source: BILD