Third Sabotage Attempt on German Power Grid Reported as State Election Nears

German authorities are investigating a suspected sabotage attempt on an electricity transformer south of Düsseldorf, according to police and media reports on Friday. The incident, reported by Bild, involved an attempt to short-circuit the transformer in the town of Dormagen. Cologne police confirmed they are aware of a letter claiming responsibility for both this incident and an earlier act of vandalism at a substation in nearby Bergheim, which took 4,200 megawatts of generating capacity offline on Tuesday. Police declined to provide further details while the investigation is ongoing.

Bild reported that a man had claimed responsibility for both incidents in a handwritten letter that also revealed his identity, though it remains unclear whether he was the actual perpetrator. The developments come amid heightened concern over the vulnerability of German critical infrastructure, following accusations by Berlin that Moscow was behind a drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport in August, part of what Germany describes as hybrid warfare. Russia has denied the allegations.

The incidents occur just days before a closely watched state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) holds a strong lead in opinion polls. Germany's Interior Ministry said it was "no coincidence" that such hybrid attacks were happening on the eve of the vote. A spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the number of foiled or unsuccessful attacks was "a sign of how our security measures work – and that they do work."

In a separate incident this week, devices carrying conductive material damaged power lines at a major high-voltage node in the eastern state of Brandenburg. Additionally, early Friday morning, police in Ganderkesee near Bremen found the door to a control enclosure at a transformer station open. The facility was undamaged and no one was found, but an investigation is continuing.