Blackout continues in Berlin due to arson of cable bridge - Tagesspiegel
An arson attack on a cable line at the Lichterfelde power plant has led to a power outage in tens of thousands of households in southwestern Berlin. The power supply is expected to be restored no earlier than January 8 due to the extent of the damage. It was reported by Tagesspiegel on Sunday, January 4.
Berlin's senator for economic affairs, Franziska Giffey, said the damage was very significant. According to her, five high-voltage and ten medium-voltage cables were destroyed in the fire on Saturday, January 3. The incendiary devices were placed directly under the cables, and the heat and subsequent combustion was very high.
"It usually takes five weeks to repair such ten-centimeter-thick cables - now all Stromnetz Berlin teams and its partners will work around the clock to achieve this in five days," said a spokesperson for the grid operator.
The newspaper writes that the left-wing radical group Vulcan claimed responsibility for the arson, calling it an "act of self-defense." Tens of thousands of households in southwestern Berlin have been without electricity and heating since Saturday morning, which the group described as "an act for the common good."
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on December 30, due to a power outage, the traffic in the tunnel under the English Channel, connecting Britain with France, Belgium and the Netherlands, stopped.