Overview
- Two deliberate attacks on Berlin’s electricity network — a fire that hit a mast in Adlershof on September 9, 2025 and a cable‑bridge blaze in Lichterfelde in January 2026 — caused widespread outages that left tens of thousands without power and in one case roughly 100,000 people without heat for days.
- Stromnetz Berlin and the Senat say they have fitted more than 70 substations with 2.40‑metre fences topped with barbed wire and reinforced or built about 20 kilometres of additional fencing to harden physical access to key sites.
- Technical upgrades include over 200 new cameras with AI‑assisted video monitoring and the creation of georedundant systems so a single attack cannot take down critical functions.
- Operational changes include roughly 130 deployed security staff with some sites guarded 24/7 and a financing package that commits more than €200 million over five years plus €10–15 million per year for ongoing monitoring and surveillance.
- Authorities have not announced definitive arrests or legal resolutions and say they will keep the exact list of the most critical ‘neuralgic’ grid points confidential; residents should expect more visible security and a trade‑off between public access and stronger protection of essential services.