Explosives damage power substation near Jänschwalde plant in eastern Germany
Homemade explosive devices damaged power lines and a pipeline at the Preilack substation in Brandenburg on Tuesday morning, prompting an investigation into critical infrastructure sabotage.
Detonation at Preilack electrical substation
Several homemade explosive devices were discovered on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, at the Preilack electrical substation in eastern Germany. The substation is situated in Turnow-Preilack, near the city of Cottbus in the state of Brandenburg, approximately 100 kilometres southeast of Berlin and close to the border with Poland. Police discovered the devices at roughly 08:00 CEST (06:00 GMT). At least one of the improvised bombs detonated against the infrastructure, while several other devices placed across the facility failed to ignite. The explosion caused material damage to an on-site pipeline and severed several transmission lines connecting to the regional network. Authorities confirmed that no personnel were injured in the blast and that no widespread blackout took place in the surrounding municipalities. A spokesperson for the Brandenburg police stated that emergency teams secured the site.
They did not explode, no one was injured, and we had no problems with electricity supply.
Grid impact and power plant inspection
The detonation caused a brief disruption in local electrical distribution before network safety systems restored normal flows. Grid operator 50Hertz reported that unidentified perpetrators damaged multiple power lines during the incident, but confirmed that maintenance crews quickly re-established operational capacity across the affected grid connections.
A brief service interruption occurred. All lines are now operational again. The general electricity supply is not currently affected.
The Preilack substation serves as the primary feeding point for energy generated by the nearby Jänschwalde coal-fired thermal power plant. Plant operator LEAG announced in an official statement that an attack had targeted the substation installation. In addition to the damage outside the plant perimeter, LEAG reported a technical fault in one of the Jänschwalde power generation units. Company engineers and technicians launched an internal review alongside law enforcement to determine whether the mechanical failure was directly linked to the explosion or the resulting electrical fluctuations.
- Explosive devices discovered at Preilack substation after at least one detonates
- Grid operator 50Hertz restores damaged power lines after brief service interruption
- Plant operator LEAG reports technical fault at Jänschwalde generation unit
- Brandenburg police open criminal inquiry to identify attackers and motives
Law enforcement inquiry and regional security context
The Brandenburg police opened a formal criminal investigation to track down the perpetrators, stating on Tuesday that the identity of the attackers and their underlying motives remained unknown. The incident occurs against a background of recent sabotage attacks on industrial and energy infrastructure in eastern Germany. In January, an arson attack severed high-voltage cables in southwest Berlin, cutting power to tens of thousands of households and thousands of businesses for nearly a week during freezing winter temperatures. A far-left militant group calling itself Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for that cable destruction, and the same organization previously claimed two separate sabotage operations against the Tesla electric vehicle manufacturing plant located outside Berlin. German federal and state security agencies maintain heightened alert levels for sabotage and espionage threats affecting critical infrastructure, including risks associated with the war between Russia and Ukraine.
