A widespread power outage affected parts of Reutlingen on Monday night. According to Mayor Thomas Keck (SPD), approximately 30,000 people across 7,600 households were impacted by the incident.
The cause of the blackout was a fire that broke out at a substation overnight. According to the grid operator, Netze BW, there are signs suggesting the fire may have been arson. They estimate that it could take up to 48 hours before the situation is completely resolved, and the state criminal office has taken over the investigation. It remains to be seen if this incident is comparable to the larger power failures experienced in Berlin in recent months.
The affected areas included the central town of Reutlingen, the Oststadt, as well as the surrounding communities of Betzingen and Ohmenhausen. Power service has since been successfully restored in several localized areas.
