The background of the alleged attack on a substation in Bergheim, located in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis of North Rhine-Westphalia, remains unclear. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) stated in Düsseldorf on Wednesday that there is a preliminary suspicion of anti-constitutional sabotage. He confirmed that investigators are exploring two possible avenues: sabotage guided by a foreign state, and left-wing extremism, adding that neither possibility can currently be ruled out. They are also examining whether the incident is connected to a similar event that took place in Brandenburg, and they are in close communication regarding this matter.
Reul emphasized that a substation functions as a “nervous center for our daily life,” stressing that anyone who targets it is attacking both the state and the economy. While few details have emerged from the investigations so far, Reul expressed confidence that more information would be presented over the course of the day.
The incident resulted in power failures affecting RWE Power. According to initial reports, the perpetrators deliberately caused a short circuit by running conductive material-presumed to be cables-over the overhead lines.
