Overview
- About 45,400 households and 2,200 businesses in Nikolassee, Zehlendorf, Wannsee and Lichterfelde lost electricity after a cable‑bridge fire damaged multiple high‑voltage lines.
- Police are investigating suspected arson at the site, deploying forensic teams and a drone and appealing for tips, as experts highlight exposed above‑ground cable transitions as recurring weak points similar to a September attack.
- Grid operator Stromnetz Berlin is building provisional connections, aiming to reconnect roughly 10,000 households in Lichterfelde by Saturday evening and to restore full supply by Thursday, 8 January 2026.
- Heatings, mobile and landline networks and S‑Bahn station systems are partly down, though trains continue to run and many shops in the affected area remain closed.
- More than 350 firefighters, the THW and aid groups set up public support points for information, charging and emergencies, with authorities urging safe alternatives to candles and advising vulnerable residents to seek warm shelter.