Overview
- At the Preilack substation that serves the Jänschwalde coal plant, several improvised explosive devices were found and at least one detonated on Tuesday, damaging multiple high‑voltage lines but causing no major blackout.
- A separate deliberate disruption at the Bergheim substation near Cologne caused short circuits and briefly knocked several generating units offline after investigators found six improvised launchers in a nearby field.
- Brandenburg police have opened a formal terrorism probe into the Preilack incident and investigators are examining both domestic extremist and foreign‑state involvement as regional authorities coordinate forensics and ordnance checks.
- Grid operators including 50Hertz, Amprion and plant owners report that affected lines have been returned to service and that power supplies were not broadly compromised though some coal units are being brought back online.
- The incidents follow the German government’s attribution of an Aug. 4 explosive‑laden drone to Russia, heighten alert on so‑called hybrid threats using cheap pyrotechnic projectiles, and could lead to tightened facility security or diplomatic measures.