The power grid in the eastern German state of Brandenburg was targeted in a sabotage attack on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, when unexploded incendiary devices damaged extra-high-voltage lines near a major power plant. State Interior Minister Jan Redmann reported that authorities recovered dozens of devices.
Substation Sabotage and the Turnow-Preilack Attack
The target was the Turnow-Preilack substation, a critical high-voltage node in southern Brandenburg. The facility connects Brandenburg’s largest power plant, the Jaenschwalde brown-coal station near the Polish border, directly to the 50Hertz transmission grid. According to state officials, perpetrators fired rockets carrying conductive material into extra-high-voltage lines to trigger short circuits.
Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann held a press conference detailing the operation. He explained that the devices were specially designed, resembling typical celebratory fireworks only in shape, and required significant preparatory work. Authorities confirmed that two short circuits succeeded, producing a visible fireball that sent energy into the erdreich, while multiple other devices failed to deploy.
“Wir nehmen den Vorfall sehr, sehr ernst, weil die Art und Weise der Tatbegehung natürlich geeignet gewesen wäre, größere Schäden zu verursachen.”
Jan Redmann, Brandenburgs Innenminister
Investigators from the Brandenburg State Criminal Police Office took over the case. EOD specialists deployed to the forest site surrounding the substation, where officers discovered a double-digit number of additional unexploded pyrotechnic devices.
Grid Impact and Operational Response
Despite the severity of the attack, the broader public electricity supply remained stable. Grid operator 50Hertz reported that although transmission lines sustained damage and a brief power cut occurred, all lines were quickly brought back into operation.
Favorable weather conditions played a major role in stabilizing the grid. Strong wind and sun generation helped absorb the sudden shock to the system. However, the attack had an immediate impact inside the generation facility. Adi Roesch, CEO of power plant operator LEAG, confirmed that the disturbance triggered a spontaneous automatic shutdown at Block B of the Jaenschwalde plant as a safety measure. Operators expected to restore the unit by Tuesday evening.
Brandenburg Minister President Dietmar Woidke condemned the act as a clear attempt at sabotage. He pointed out that the incident underscores a deeply concerning frequency of attacks on regional infrastructure, arguing that physical protection measures must be significantly strengthened.
Broader Security Concerns and Ongoing Investigations
Investigators have not yet established a definitive motive or identified the perpetrators. Interior Minister Redmann noted that authorities are exploring all leads simultaneously. Officials acknowledged that the region has previously seen attacks on power infrastructure originating from left-wing extremist groups, such as an incident in January involving transmission lines near Berlin that left thousands of households without power.
At the same time, authorities refused to rule out foreign state involvement. The timing of the Brandenburg incident coincides with escalating security anxieties across Germany. On the same day, the federal government explicitly blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in the previous month, prompting Berlin to announce retaliatory countermeasures. Moscow has consistently dismissed accusations regarding the airport incident as fabricated provocations.
The Brandenburg substation attack will be added to the agenda for the next interior ministers’ conference, where officials intend to reevaluate the security posture of critical infrastructure networks nationwide. Meanwhile, state security forces continue their sweeps around the Turnow-Preilack perimeter as technical teams secure the remaining unexploded ordinances.
