Power Outage in Reutlingen: Investigators Examine Possible Arson Attack on Critical Infrastructure

Reutlingen's Mayor Thomas Keck (SPD) expressed his concern. The outage had endangered lives – "und das ist unverzeihlich." He added: "Wir müssen uns verteidigen – wir wissen noch nicht, gegen wen." In doing so, he addressed the uncertainty about possible perpetrators and motives.

Background: Left-Wing Extremism and Infrastructure in Baden-Württemberg

The incident in Reutlingen comes amid growing concern about the security of energy infrastructure. Previously, a left-wing extremist group had claimed responsibility for an arson attack in the west of Berlin. However, the Baden-Württemberg state office for the protection of the constitution told SWR on request that "bislang keine linksextremistischen Akteure im Land bekannt seien, die mit den linksextremistischen Gruppenstrukturen in Berlin vergleichbar seien." According to this, Baden-Württemberg police also had no information regarding attacks on infrastructure by the left-wing scene in the state.

According to the 2024 Report on the Protection of the Constitution, there are around 2,700 left-wing extremists in Baden-Württemberg, of whom 850 are classified as "gewaltorientiert." The number of violence-prone individuals is therefore not negligible, even though dedicated left-wing terrorist structures have not been proven so far.

In Baden-Württemberg, hospitals, senior care homes, and security-relevant institutions such as the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt are among the operators of critical infrastructure. According to information from Stuttgart, they have "alle über eine Notfallversorgung." How well these precautions work in an emergency depends on the duration and geographic scope of an outage.

Incidents and Vulnerability of the Grid

The concern is not merely theoretical, as shown by previous incidents. In Mannheim, a power outage at the beginning of the year brought tram traffic to a halt. In Stuttgart, around 3,000 people were without electricity for hours at the end of 2024. The Reutlingen incident also serves as a reminder of how vulnerable supply remains even in a highly industrialised country.

Energy provider EnBW considers itself well positioned. Spokesperson Sebastian Ackermann said the facilities were "im höchsten Maße gesichert." "Alle Systeme sind doppelt verfügbar," he added – a redundant grid could initially absorb an outage. At the same time, he acknowledged that many lines ran "tausende Kilometer" openly through the countryside: "die kann man nicht alle absichern."

Security Situation from the Perspective of Energy Providers

Torsten Höck, Managing Director of the Association for the Energy and Water Industry in Baden-Württemberg (VfEW), also warned against a false sense of security. It was simply not possible to fully protect the state's power grids. "Das Schadenspotenzial und die Folgen können enorm sein," he said. A scale comparable to the current situation in Berlin was, however, "sehr unwahrscheinlich" in Baden-Württemberg.

Transmission system operator TransnetBW stated on request that the grid in Baden-Württemberg was prepared to "auch ungewöhnliche Situationen abzufedern." In the event of problems, automatic protection mechanisms and security reserves would kick in. However, several experts had already emphasised to SWR at the beginning of the year that "keinen hundertprozentigen Schutz gegen Angriffe auf die Stromversorgung im Land gebe."

Against this backdrop, the energy associations are calling for a reassessment of access to infrastructure data. Ackermann and Höck spoke out in favour of fundamentally discussing public access to information about lines and facilities in the existing federal and state portals. "Das Thema muss ganz bestimmt in der Energiewirtschaft nochmal besprochen werden," said Höck.

What Citizens Can Do

The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment points out that the requirements for the protection of critical infrastructure are regulated uniformly nationwide. "Damit die Versorgungssicherheit auf einem hohen Niveau bleibt, gilt für Betreiber kritischer Infrastruktur (KRITIS) in Deutschland ein umfassendes Regelwerk aus nationalen und europäischen Gesetzen," it said. At the same time, civil protection remains a matter for the individual states.

The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) recommends that citizens prepare for a power outage. Device batteries should be charged, and spare batteries should be kept ready. For stockpiling, the BBK advises a timeframe of ideally ten days; even a supply for three days helps. "Der Vorrat könne schrittweise aufgebaut werden. Es sei besser, überhaupt anzufangen, als gar nichts zu tun," the office said.