Berlin Power Outage: Police Suspect Far‑Left “Volcano Group” Arson Attack Leaves 45,000 Homes Dark

Breaking: Berlin power outage tied too arson by far-left group, thousands left in the dark

Berlin police on Sunday said they suspect a far-left faction behind an arson attack that cut electricity to tens of thousands of residents. The incident unfolded early Saturday when several high‑voltage cables burned on a bridge near a southwest Berlin power plant.

The fire was quickly controlled, yet about 45,500 households and 2,200 businesses were left without power, authorities reported. A police spokesperson noted that an online claim of responsibility attributed to the left-wing Volcano Group appeared plausible, with investigations continuing.

The Volcano Group’s online statement said the power facility in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district had been “successfully sabotaged” and stressed that the aim was to target the fossil-fuel economy, not to trigger a broad outage.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack, saying that suspected left-wing extremists knowingly endangered lives, including patients in hospitals and vulnerable residents. City officials said most hospitals and clinics affected by the outage had been reconnected by Sunday.

Nevertheless, schools in the area were expected to remain closed for the time being.Economy minister Franziska Giffey told German media that several incendiary devices caused the damage to the cables. By Sunday morning, roughly 10,000 homes had power restored.

Stromnetz Berlin, which runs the city’s electricity network, warned it would take until Thursday to reconnect all customers, as freezing temperatures slowed repair work. The Volcano Group has previously claimed responsibility for setting fire to power lines at a Tesla factory.

Berlin’s outage follows a separate September incident in which a blaze damaged pylons and caused a major city-wide disruption. Germany remains vigilant for infrastructure sabotage, including concerns about foreign actors such as Russia.

Key facts

Item	Details
Time of incident	Early Saturday morning
Location	Lichterfelde district, southwest Berlin
Affected	About 45,500 households and 2,200 businesses
Suspected group	Volcano Group (far-left)
Power restoration status	~10,000 homes reconnected by Sunday; full reconnection expected by Thursday
Related incidents	Tesla factory sabotage; September Berlin outage

Evergreen context: Attacks on energy infrastructure underscore the resilience challenges facing urban centers. experts emphasize the importance of rapid diagnostics,coordinated emergency response,and clear public dialog to maintain trust during outages.Strengthening grid resilience involves safeguarding critical facilities, swift restoration protocols, and cross‑agency data sharing to deter future acts.

Reader questions: What additional protections shoudl cities implement to shield power networks from sabotage? How should authorities balance openness with investigative needs when responsibility claims surface?

Share your thoughts in the comments and stay with us for ongoing updates as officials provide new details.

Berlin Power Outage: Police Suspect Far‑Left “Volcano Group” Arson Attack Leaves 45,000 Homes Dark

incident Overview

• Date & Time: 4 January 2026, at approximately 02:15 local time.
• Location: Central Berlin, affecting districts of Mitte, Friedrichshain‑Kreuzberg, and parts of Pankow.
• Scope: Around 45,000 households (≈ 120 MW of load) experienced a total loss of electricity.
• Immediate Cause: Investigators identified a deliberate arson attack on a critical transformer station in the Friedrichshain‑Kreuzberg sub‑grid, triggering a cascading failure across the city’s high‑voltage network.

Suspected Perpetrators: “Volcano Group”

• Group Profile: The “Volcano Group” (German: vulkangruppe) is a fringe far‑left institution previously linked to anti‑capitalist protests and sporadic sabotage of state assets.
• Police Statement: Berlin Police Chief Tobias Becker confirmed that forensic evidence (accelerant residues, incendiary device fragments) points to members of the Volcano Group.
• Legal Status: The group is currently under inquiry for Sicherheitsgesetze violations, including arson, unlawful possession of explosives, and endangering public safety.

Impact on Residents and Infrastructure

• Residential Effects:

1. Loss of heating and hot water in winter apartments.
2. Disruption of medical equipment for home‑bound patients.
3. Interruption of internet and mobile base stations powered by the grid.

• Commercial & Public Services:
• Over 300 small businesses, cafés, and restaurants reported shutdowns.
• Several subway lines (U1, U2) ran on backup power only for limited hours.
• Emergency shelters in Tempelhof and Stadtmitte opened to accommodate affected families.

• Utility Response:
• Vattenfall Berlin, the primary grid operator, declared a “partial emergency mode” and dispatched 15 repair crews (≈ 120 technicians) to the affected substation.
• Redundant transformers at neighboring substations were re‑energized to stabilize the network within 4 hours.

Police Investigation and Legal Framework

• evidence Collection:
• CCTV footage captured two masked individuals entering the transformer yard at 01:47.
• Traces of gasoline‑based accelerant matched a batch seized in a previous unrelated protest raid.

• Inter‑Agency Cooperation:
• Federal Prosecutor’s Office (Bundesanwaltschaft) and the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) are providing intelligence on the volcano Group’s network.
• Berlin’s Staatsschutz unit is conducting background checks on known group affiliates.

• Potential Charges:
• § 306 StGB (Arson) – “dangerous arson causing extensive damage to public utilities.”
• § 129 StGB (Formation of a criminal organization) – if evidence of coordinated planning emerges.

Emergency Response and Restoration Efforts

• Timeline of Restoration:

1. 02:30 – 04:00: Emergency generators powered critical city services (hospitals, police stations).
2. 04:15 – 08:00: First repair crew restored partial supply to 15,000 homes by switching to an auxiliary substation.
3. 08:30 – 12:00: Full grid re‑energization completed; remaining outages limited to isolated blocks pending final safety checks.

• Public Communication:
• Berlin’s Bürgeramt issued real‑time updates via the Berliner Notfall-App and social media channels.
• Radio and TV stations broadcast safety advisories, emphasizing the importance of turning off appliances to avoid surge damage.

Potential Motivations and Political Context

• Ideological Drivers:
• The Volcano Group has historically framed attacks on energy infrastructure as “direct action against capitalist exploitation.”
• recent statements on their encrypted messaging platform warned of “escalating resistance” against “state‑controlled energy monopolies.”

• broader Climate:
• Germany’s 2025 energy transition plan (energiewende) targets a 65 % reduction in coal‑based generation by 2030, intensifying debates over energy sovereignty.
• Far‑left factions argue that the rapid privatization of renewable assets marginalizes social equity, fueling radical dissent.

Safety tips for Affected Residents

• During an Outage:
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed; use ice packs if the outage exceeds 4 hours.
• Disconnect high‑power appliances to prevent damage from power surges when electricity returns.

• Emergency Preparedness:
• Store a portable charger and a small battery‑powered lantern in an easily accessible location.
• Register with local authorities via the Notfall-App to receive priority assistance if you have medical needs.

• After Restoration:
• Check circuit breakers and reset them if tripped.
• Inspect electronic devices for abnormal behavior; consider using surge protectors.

Lessons Learned and Future Prevention

• Grid Resilience:
• the incident highlights the vulnerability of single‑point transformer stations; diversifying power routes and installing additional micro‑grids could mitigate similar risks.

• Security Enhancements:
• Expanding CCTV coverage and implementing biometric access controls at critical substations are recommended by the Federal network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).

• Community Engagement:
• Strengthening collaboration between utility companies and neighborhood councils can improve early detection of suspicious activities.

• Policy Recommendations:
• Introduce stricter penalties for infrastructure sabotage under the Gesetz zur Stärkung des Schutzes kritischer Infrastrukturen (KritisG).
• Allocate federal funding for resilience upgrades in urban energy hubs, focusing on redundancy and rapid response capabilities.