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Berlin Restores Power After Sabotage as Cities Press for a National 'Blackout Reserve'

Two temporary high‑voltage lines now carry the load as permanent repairs stretch into months.

Overview

  • Berlin’s interior senator ended the officially declared major‑damage status after supply in Steglitz‑Zehlendorf stabilized following the suspected arson attack.
  • Stromnetz Berlin says two provisional lines are securing service and that full reconstruction of the damaged network will take several months.
  • Hundreds of police are guarding provisional power infrastructure, a deployment criticized by police unions as an unsustainable drain on regular duties.
  • The Deutscher Städtetag urges a federally held mobile power reserve to keep whole neighborhoods running in crises, while the Interior Ministry notes a planned war‑reserve concept and stresses state and local responsibility.
  • The blackout initially cut power to about 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses, more than 13,000 responders were mobilized, and the Berlin tenants’ association says affected renters may seek rent reductions and certain reimbursements.