FRANKFURT, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Germany faced a second sabotage attempt on its electricity grid, with local police saying on Wednesday they are investigating an attack on a substation near the western city of Bergheim.
A police spokesperson said they are investigating an act of premeditated vandalism on the technical infrastructure at 4:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Tuesday but added that the region’s power supply was unaffected.
The spokesperson would not specify the damage.
Also on Tuesday, devices carrying conductive material damaged power lines in the eastern state of Brandenburg.
Electricity grid operator Amprion said in a statement that external interference was likely behind the incident in western Germany and that power supply and grid stability were upheld throughout.
Power utility RWE said in a separate statement the incident prompted it to take lignite power plant units with 4,200 megawatts in combined capacity off the grid.
It added that the affected units in Neurath and Niederaussem would reconnect to the grid over the next few days and that it was in close contact with authorities and with Amprion.
German authorities are on high alert for attacks on vital infrastructure.
Berlin on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport last month and ordered a series of measures in response.
Germany’s electricity grid has been hit by attacks before, including by suspected left-wing militants.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Tom Hogue and Thomas Seythal)
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