Power outage in Berlin exposes deficiencies in protecting critical infrastructure, experts warn

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - There is great relief in the German capital, sooner than initially announced, as people in southwest Berlin are once again being supplied with electricity after five days of blackouts, the longest power outage since the end of World War II in 1945.

It was “open-heart surgery,” said Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s state senator responsible for energy, describing the complex repair work.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, who has faced severe criticism for his dismal crisis management, clearly expressed his relief: " I have never been so happy in my life that the power is back on."

- 100,000 people affected

After the suspected left-wing extremist arson attack on a cable bridge in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district, 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses had been without power since Saturday morning. According to the network operator, it was the longest outage in the capital's post-war history.

Wegner said a total of around 100,000 people were affected. Berlin declared a state of emergency on Sunday.

On day five, at around 11 am local time (1000GMT), the power supply in the southwest of the city was restored. In the early afternoon, Giffey announced that full power had been restored since 2.10 pm (1310GMT). “All households are reconnected.”

- 170 technicians and repair experts on duty

The crucial temporary cable connection at the scene was restored and tested successfully during the night, according to a spokesperson for the state-owned power grid company.

According to Berlin’s State Senate, a total of 170 technicians and experts were involved in repairing the destroyed high-voltage cables and replacement lines, working around the clock. Gradually, more and more households have been reconnected to the grid over the past few days. The work proved complicated, partly due to the low temperatures and partly due to the different materials used in the cables.

“I am infinitely grateful to everyone involved, the aid organizations, the Berlin police, the fire department, utility operator Stromnetz Berlin, the civil engineering companies, the many volunteers who helped and contributed, and also the German Armed Forces and the Federal Police,” Wegner said.

- Support from federal government and German army

The crisis teams worked well. “The fact that we finished a day and a half earlier than we had expected is great, especially for the people in the affected areas,” said Wegner during a visit to a construction site at a substation in the southwest of the city.

“An important milestone has been reached, but it's not over yet,” said Senator for Economic Affairs Giffey, pointing out, among other things, that the heat supply must be ramped up again.

After an eight-hour voltage test, Bernhard Bullmann, managing director of Stromnetz Berlin, believes that the supply is stable: “We are very confident that we will not have any problems with this line.”

- Schools remain closed, crisis teams still active

Despite the restoration of power, the schools affected by the outage will remain closed until the end of the week. Classes are expected to resume as normal on Monday, according to the education authorities, with technical checks required beforehand.

The German Armed Forces will also remain on site to provide people with hot meals if necessary. According to the district, emergency shelters will also remain open for a while longer.

- More protection with video cameras

In the future, Berlin wants to significantly improve the protection of critical infrastructure. Wegner announced that vulnerable locations would be secured more quickly “at very short notice.”

The aim is to monitor 100% of vulnerable and problematic areas of the above-ground power grid with video cameras within a short period of time. Some 1% of Berlin's 35,000-kilometer (21,748-mile) power grid runs above ground, with 75% of these lines already monitored by cameras.

Giffey spoke of a double-digit number of critical points that could be considered for surveillance. Protection could be provided by “optical, thermal, and mechanical sensors.” Fences and other protective measures are already in place. Now, the police presence will also be increased day and night.

- Experts concerned over threats to critical infrastructure

Meanwhile, political experts expressed strong concern over the imminent threats to Germany’s critical infrastructure, including power grids and railways system.

“Well, first of all, I think like many others, I was surprised by the blackout. I mean, that a power outage of this magnitude could last for almost a week. And it's important to note that it was really just one central cable,” said Berlin-based journalist Florian Warweg in an interview with Anadolu.

“That also means there was no backup, no intermediate stages that could compensate for it. And I think that surprised me, but also all the other residents of Berlin, how much damage an arson attack on a single cable center can cause, completely paralyzing a significant part of Berlin for a whole week,” he added.

Warweg stressed that German infrastructure “is very vulnerable, even if you compare it to Ukraine, which is exposed to much stronger attacks, partly on its electricity infrastructure, and is partly able to repair the damage within hours.”

He urged more investments “in protecting civilian and central infrastructure, especially when it comes to backup options.”

"As I said, a fire in a cable center should not result in thousands, tens of thousands of Berliners having to suffer for a week in sub-zero temperatures, as they did,” Warweg reiterated.

“On the one hand, the federal government is indeed responsible for the blackout, but not just the current one, because investments in central infrastructure have simply not been made for decades. Yes, you can certainly look at certain countries in the Middle East or even China, which have solved this problem in a much more sustainable way,” he added.

Warweg made clear that it also holds “the Berlin government accountable,” because, according to him, this was “the longest power outage of its kind since 1945” and showed that “Germany is in no way prepared for major attacks or even accidents in this area of infrastructure.”

His statements were underscored by another Berlin-based political analyst Hans Jessen, who said the attack proved that the critical infrastructure, is “not particularly well protected.”

“It was a cable bridge that crossed a canal, and it was unprotected. For someone who knew that these cables were there, and anyone interested in the subject could have known that, it was very easy to carry out an arson attack,” Jessen told Anadolu.

“Those responsible in the city, both politicians and administrators, must assume that there are forces that want to disrupt or destroy this infrastructure, and we must be better prepared for this in the future through better secrecy of such infrastructure, as well as better protection and better surveillance, “ he added.

Jessen called the crisis management of the city of Berlin “disastrous.”

“Of course, the main responsibility lies with those who carry out such attacks. Yes, when it comes to protecting infrastructure, the state, and especially in the case of the city of Berlin, must take more precautions and have better surveillance capabilities; that is essential,” he said.

Meanwhile, an independent news producer in Berlin, Alex Theiler, reiterated that the critical infrastructure is “extremely vulnerable.”

“If you look at the overall political situation, if a bomb hits somewhere here, it's over. There is no redundancy here, there is no security,” Theiler said.

He made clear that corporations themselves are ”primarily responsible for protecting critical infrastructure” and should invest more in it.

Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office had reportedly taken over the investigation following the attack on Berlin's power grid.

The far-left group the Vulkangruppe had claimed responsibility for a sabotage attack that left around 50,000 households without electricity in Berlin on Saturday.

The suspected left-wing extremist perpetrators are accused of membership in a terrorist group, sabotage, and disruption of public services, among other things.