Tens of thousands of homes in Berlin will be without electricity until Thursday as authorities struggle to repair power cables seriously damaged in a suspected arson attack, officials have said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, but about 45,500 homes and 2,200 businesses in districts in south-west Berlin were left without power, according to the grid operator Stromnetz Berlin. View image in fullscreen A pedestrian walks through the Lichterfelde district in western Berlin after a major power outage. Giffey said Saturday’s outage was worse than one in September, when tens of thousands were also left without power in Berlin after a fire hit electricity pylons. Police also suspected arson in that case, and an unnamed anarchist group claimed responsibility online for starting the blaze.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2026 13:51 UTC