Power outage chaos in Berlin: 20,000 households without light and water!

Power outage chaos in Berlin: 20,000 households without light and water!

In southeast Berlin, a massive power outage is causing concern and anger among residents. How rbb24 According to reports, around 20,000 households are currently without electricity. The outage, which is already considered the longest in Berlin in 25 years, also affects the emergency numbers 110 and 112, which cannot be reached in parts of Treptow-Köpenick. The grid operator has asked customers to reduce their electricity consumption to ensure grid stability. Full power restoration is not expected until Thursday at the earliest.

The cause of the massive disruption is presumably an arson attack in which two high-voltage pylons went up in flames on September 9th. This led to significant damage to power cables and has now affected around 50,000 households Mercury reports. Care in several nursing homes was also severely affected, meaning that ventilated patients had to be transferred to hospitals. As of Wednesday morning, 20,000 connections remained without power, while mobile police and fire service contact points were set up for those affected.

School situation and care

The impact of the power outage is far-reaching. A dozen schools in the Treptow-Köpenick district remained closed on Wednesday, but classes are scheduled to take place again from Thursday. Meanwhile, aid organizations have built up their support for those affected to ensure accommodation and care. In the supermarkets, many frozen goods were saved by being reloaded into refrigerated trucks. At the same time, local public transport is severely restricted in the affected areas. Several S-Bahn and tram lines were canceled, making everyday life for Berliners much more difficult.

The matter also has political dimensions. Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger announced that the public prosecutor's office had taken over the investigation. The domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group suspects that the attack required specialist knowledge, while Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt expressed concerns about the targeted selection of the attack targets.

Critical infrastructures and social consequences

As the bpb As explained in a recent report, the stability of the power grid is crucial, especially in crisis situations. The expansion of renewable energies and the increasing number of cyber attacks pose major challenges for operators. The vulnerability of critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and water management, is particularly evident in such tense situations, where the rapid restoration of power supply is essential.

All of these factors illustrate how fragile our modern society is. The consequences of a blackout can not only disrupt everyday life, but can also trigger domino effects that rock the entire system. In this crisis, the connections between technical infrastructure and the daily lives of citizens are particularly clear.