Southwest of Berlin is left without power due to a fire at a thermal power plant
3 January 18:03
A fire at a cable installation in Berlin caused a large-scale power outage in the city’s southwest on Saturday, January 3. About 45,000 households and about 2,200 commercial facilities, as well as several hospitals and care facilities for people with disabilities, were left without electricity, electricity operator Stromnetz Berlin reported, "Komersant Ukrainian" citing DW.
The fire damaged several high-voltage cables. The fire has now been extinguished. According to the operator, repair work will continue until January 8. The power supply will be fully restored at that time. Only about 10,000 households will be connected to other parts of the network by the end of January 3.
Berlin police suspect arson and are collecting evidence
According to Stromnetz Berlin, the cause of the large-scale power outage was a fire on the cable bridge over the Teltow Canal near the Lichterfelde thermal power plant. The Berlin police have launched an investigation into suspected arson.
Law enforcement officials are collecting evidence. The police also warned that due to the lack of electricity in some areas, there may be heating interruptions. In addition, mobile and landline telephone services may be disrupted.
