Just a few hours ago, the day-long power outage in Berlin, which affected tens of thousands of people, was repaired. There is talk of a suspected arson attack by left-wing extremists, which paralyzed around 45,000 households and caused chaos in the southwest of the capital since Saturday (3 January 2026). With no light, no heating, no hot food and no way to charge their cell phones to call for help – this is what everyday life has been like over the past few days, and at the coldest time of year of all times. The city of Berlin responded immediately: numerous hotels made free rooms available for those affected, and numerous aid stations were set up where charging stations, food and basic supplies were available. The extent of the situation was so serious that a “major emergency situation” was declared – a status that will remain in place for the time being, as there is still a lot of work to be done. Not all questions have been clarified and concerns about possible consequences for the future are still very much in the air.
It was probably the longest power outage in Berlin’s post-war history – and it made it clear just how vulnerable the capital’s power grid is. Operators explained that around one percent of Berlin’s 35,000 kilometer-long power grid runs above ground and is therefore particularly vulnerable. According to Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD), there have been plans for some time to lay numerous lines underground. In addition, the police are looking into using video surveillance and artificial intelligence (AI) to secure neuralgic points in future. However, it remains to be seen whether this can be implemented in practice, as data protection often places strict limits on the use of cameras in public spaces.
First of all, the damage caused has to be repaired at great expense and destroyed cables have to be replaced. As this can take weeks or even months, temporary solutions are necessary. Emergency power generators should therefore remain on site for the time being while crisis teams continue to meet. In addition, the power grids are to be made even more redundant to enable alternative transport routes for electricity in the event of outages. With regard to crisis management, the State Court of Auditors had already warned in the 2025 annual report: “The Berlin disaster control authorities are not sufficiently prepared for disasters and major incidents in terms of organization and personnel.” In an emergency, Berlin is “unable to act”. Even if this fortunately did not prove to be the case, not everything went smoothly: it took time to activate the emergency power generators and many citizens complained about a lack of information and a lack of practical support, especially at the beginning.
The consequences of the blackout in Berlin are serious. On the second day of the blackout, there was already talk of “millions of euros worth of damage to systems and machinery as well as a high loss of revenue”. The main task now is to systematically record, assess and gradually repair the damage to infrastructure and the economy.