A fire that knocked out electricity to large parts of southwest Berlin is being investigated as a suspected far-left extremist attack, with officials warning that tens of thousands of residents could remain without power for days.
Grid operator Stromnetz Berlin said on Sunday that the blaze, believed to be an act of arson, initially threatened to leave up to 45,000 households without electricity until January 8.
As of Sunday, around 35,000 households and nearly 1,900 businesses were still affected as crews worked to restore supply.
Volcano Group claims responsibility
German media reported that a group calling itself the Volcano Group claimed responsibility in a letter circulated after the incident, describing the attack as a protest against the fossil-fuel-based energy industry.
Berlin’s interior affairs minister, Iris Spranger, said security authorities have classified the letter as authentic.
“I condemn this inhumane attack on Berliners and visitors to the city in the strongest possible terms,” Spranger said in a post on X, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
The incident has revived concerns about politically motivated sabotage of critical infrastructure. In September, a suspected arson attack on power pylons cut electricity to around 50,000 households in Berlin, an operation local media said resembled the Volcano Group’s high-profile 2024 attack on the power supply to Tesla’s gigafactory in Gruenheide.
