Berlin blackout: Mayor blames 'left-wing extremists' for outage

City officials say a fire on Jan. 3 damaged power lines near the Lichterfelde plant and they have blamed 'left‑wing extremists'; the blaze left more than 45,000 households and about 2,200 businesses without power.

A fire broke out on Saturday, Jan. 3, on a cable bridge near the Lichterfelde power plant in south‑west Berlin. City officials have described the blaze as politically motivated and on Sunday attributed it to "left‑wing extremists." The incident has cut power to more than 45,000 households and about 2,200 businesses across four districts. What is known: - The blaze damaged power lines on a cable bridge near the Lichterfelde power plant and occurred on Jan. 3. - More than 45,000 households and around 2,200 businesses across four districts lost power, with heating and internet services also affected. - Authorities are treating the incident as potential arson and city officials publicly blamed "left‑wing extremists"; parallels were noted with a September outage. Summary: Officials say the outage has removed electricity and disrupted services for tens of thousands and numerous businesses. Authorities are treating the fire as possible arson and investigating. Undetermined at this time.