Suspected arson attack on substation in Reutlingen: Investigators examining possible political motive

A spokesperson for the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) in Stuttgart said there were indications that an accelerant had been used. Investigators were able to secure a possible accelerant at the scene. The forensic investigation, which also involved an accelerant-detection dog, had not yet been completed.

Forensic investigation: Evidence of an accelerant

As the city of Reutlingen announced, power supply was quickly restored in parts of the city center and at a hospital. Already by Monday afternoon, large parts of private households in the Betzingen and Ohmenhausen districts, as well as schools and kindergartens in those areas, were back on the grid, according to the city administration.

By Tuesday midday, „nahezu alle betroffenen Privathaushalte provisorisch wieder mit Strom versorgt" gewesen, the city said on its website, including the hospital. 99 percent of private households had been reconnected, according to the city. However, around 50 medium-voltage customers who receive their power through the Reutlingen-West substation remained affected, including approximately 50 commercial businesses in a Reutlingen industrial area as well as a gas station.

The utilities Netze BW and FairNetz were working „mit Hochdruck" on a solution. However, supply for the remaining commercial customers would „nicht vor morgen Abend wiederhergestellt sein", it was said. Repair work on the network was continuing at the same intensive pace, with the goal of restoring regular supply as quickly as possible. According to Netze BW, businesses in Reutlingen will be supplied with power again from Wednesday.

Supply restored, businesses still without power

At the Reutlingen-West substation, both transformers are currently damaged, according to Netze BW, and at least one functional transformer is needed for complete supply. Richard Huber, responsible for cross-system infrastructure at Netze BW, said: „Hoffentlich ist die Vollversorgung morgen wiederhergestellt". Full repair of the damage will take months, although customers are not supposed to notice anything.

Interior Minister Hagel announced that the investigations would be pursued with vigor. „Unsere Ermittlungsgruppe wird jeden einzelnen Stein umdrehen, und wir werden den Täter auch mit aller Härte zur Rechenschaft ziehen", Hagel said. An investigation team codenamed „Fischer" had been established to support the ongoing investigation.

According to Interior Minister Hagel, the investigations are being led by the State Protection and the Anti-Terrorism Center at the LKA in Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Public Prosecutor's Office is conducting the proceedings on suspicion of intentional arson and disruption of public utilities. There were no indications of suspects or a motive so far, the LKA said: „Hinweise zu möglichen Tatverdächtigen oder Motiven liegen aktuell noch nicht vor."

Investigations under the lead of the LKA Stuttgart

Baden-Württemberg's Minister-President Cem Özdemir (Greens) struck a more cautious tone than Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt and did not want to commit to the term „Brandanschlag" or to a left-wing extremist classification. „Die Vorstellung, dass wir alle Umspannwerke quasi von der Öffentlichkeit abschirmen, die ist kaum durchsetzbar", Özdemir said. At the same time, he emphasized that the strategy in Reutlingen had proven itself because the supply of people and vulnerable groups had been clearly prioritized.

According to information from the German Press Agency, the modus operandi points to left-wing extremist perpetrators and shows parallels to similar attacks in Berlin. Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt said the approach in Reutlingen was reminiscent of earlier arson attacks. There were no concrete indications of a possible instigator abroad, according to investigative sources.

A police hundred-strong unit was deployed to Reutlingen to increase police presence at critical infrastructure and in the areas still affected. „Eine Einsatzhundertschaft der Polizei sei nach Reutlingen verlegt worden, um Polizeipräsenz zu zeigen an kritischer Infrastruktur und den Bereichen, in denen es immer noch keinen Strom gebe", it was said. Police would also remain deployed overnight to prevent looting in the affected areas.

The business sector was also affected by the outage. Employees at the Bosch plant in Kusterdingen worked from home where possible; at the Bosch plant in Reutlingen, operations gradually resumed with staff on site. The Reutlingen fire department had been in continuous operation since the start of the power outage, the command staff worked through the night and was planning emergency power supplies as a precaution against possible further outages.

Police presence and economic impact

Overall, the consequences remained more limited than in a comparable incident in Berlin. After the first attack on September 9, 2025, on two power pylons, around 50,000 private households and some 2,000 businesses were temporarily without electricity. In the second attack on January 3, five high-voltage and ten medium-voltage cables on a cable bridge were destroyed. The September 2025 outage lasted around 60 hours, and all households were back on the grid by the afternoon of September 11.

Parallels to the Berlin attacks on the power infrastructure

During the Berlin attack in January, there was bitter cold and snow — and the power outage also meant that many central heating systems no longer functioned. It was not until January 7, after roughly 100 hours, that electricity supply was restored for all those affected. Thousands of Berliners fled to friends, acquaintances, and hotels.

Netze BW stated that complete protection against targeted sabotage is likely unattainable; protective measures against deliberate attacks on substations had not previously been a requirement, but would need to be strengthened in the future. Security services at substations are not currently planned, and the associated cost questions would need to be resolved politically.

Extent of damage and debate over protective measures

According to information from the German Press Agency, the fire and power outage in Reutlingen caused damage amounting to several million euros. An exact figure for repair costs was not yet possible, Netze BW said, but the damage would be „in Millionenhöhe".

Reutlingen has a total of just under 120,000 inhabitants and lies at the foot of the Swabian Alb. Parts of the neighboring communities of Wannweil and Kirchentellinsfurt were also affected by the power outage. Large parts of the residential areas in Kirchentellinsfurt and Wannweil, as well as individual commercial areas, were provisionally reconnected, according to Netze BW. When the power supply in Reutlingen would be fully restored remained unclear for the time being.

Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt stated that the approach in Reutlingen was reminiscent of earlier arson attacks. The LKA announced that all leads would now be evaluated. „Wir ermitteln ergebnisoffen weiter", an LKA spokesperson said — a political classification or a claim of responsibility had not yet been received. The Berlin attacks of September 2025 and January are attributed to left-wing extremist perpetrators.