Rayner Pena/EPA
45 thousand homes without electricity, the biggest blackout in the German capital since World War II. Police are looking for those responsible for the attack.
The first weekend of 2026 went down in history in Berlin: recorded the highest blackout in the capital of Germany since the end of World War II.
45,000 homes and 2,200 businesses were left without electricity for almost a week. This is in the middle of winter, when Berlin often experiences temperatures below zero.
The power failure caused by a fire that hit a set of high-voltage cables revealed gaps in the security of critical infrastructure in the German capital, at a time when Berlin is concerned about sabotage attacks from Russia.
The blackout was caused by a fire at the Berlin-Lichterfelde gas power station. It was not an accident: the group Vulkangruppe, of far-left activists, claimed responsibility for the attack – a “necessary measure against the expansion” of natural gas power plants.
Now, the police are looking of the members of this “Volcano Group”.
And there is a reward For anyone with information: 1 million euros.
This Tuesday, the German Interior Minister announced a reward of 1 million euros for information leading to the arrest of Vulkangruppe militants.
This is the Government’s “response”, according to Minister Alexander Dobrindt: “Our security agencies will be significantly strengthened in the fight against left-wing extremism. I think it is appropriate to highlight the gravity of the situation with a reward of this magnitude”, quote or
The police will have an advertising campaign to request tips and publicize the reward; there will be leaflets and posters in the city’s metro.
This attack is not new to the Vulkangruppe: active for 15 years, it has already been responsible for arson attacks in Berlin and its surroundings; one of the most recent (2024) halted production at Tesla’s Berlin car factory.
Minister Dobrindt also guaranteed that the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, will adopt a new law to better protect critical infrastructure – but criticism has already emerged: it appears to be too bureaucratic to be effective.
And there will be less transparency on vital infrastructure installations, to prevent attacks: “We have already disclosed too much public information about our critical infrastructures”, admitted Alexander Dobrindt.
