Germany Investigates Suspected Sabotage at Power Facilities

German authorities have launched investigations into two incidents that disrupted power distribution facilities in eastern and western Germany, amid suspicions that both incidents may have involved deliberate acts of sabotage. One of the cases is also being examined for possible links to terrorism.

Several explosive devices were discovered Tuesday morning at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg, northeastern Germany. The incident did not cause a widespread power outage, although one device triggered a short circuit.

Brandenburg police said they had opened an investigation into the possible formation of a terrorist organization in connection with the explosion and the destruction of critical equipment.

In a separate incident in western Germany, authorities said a short circuit that disrupted several power lines at the Bergheim substation near Cologne on Tuesday evening was also deliberate. No widespread blackout was reported.

Energy company RWE said five coal-fired units with a combined capacity of around 4,200 megawatts were shut down following the incident.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said investigators were examining two possibilities: sabotage directed by a foreign government or involvement by left-wing extremists, stressing that neither possibility could currently be ruled out.