The German police are investigating a 48-year-old man from North Rhine-Westphalia who is suspected of acts of sabotage against the power grid. The regional Minister of the Interior, Herbert Raul, announced this during a joint press conference in Düsseldorf.
This man, originally from a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia—the western part of the country where most alleged attacks occurred—sent two letters with demands that were received by both security forces and the media, Raul specified.
He emphasized that one of the letters contained very precise details about equipment and materials, suggesting that the author may be connected to these events.
During a search of his residence in the same region, the police discovered 'suspicious substances or objects that could be explosive,' Raul stated.
The regional minister added that the investigation into 'sabotage aimed at constitutional order' is proceeding along two tracks: 'possible motivation of left-wing extremism' and 'sabotage possibly organized by a foreign state.'
He recalled that after the power outage on Tuesday in Bergheim, near Cologne, in the western part of the country, which affected five units of two power plants, the police found various devices that caused short circuits.
On Thursday evening, police discovered pipes with cables and timers aimed at the substation in Domagen, between Cologne and Düsseldorf, in an incident classified as an attempted act of sabotage.
In his letters, the author also indicated other targets where he claimed to attempt to cause short circuits.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated: 'At this stage, we must assume this is related to climate extremism.'
In recent months, Germany has faced repeated attacks on its energy infrastructure, some of which have been claimed by climate activists.
On January 3, a fire at a power facility, claimed by the group Vulkangruppe (Volcanic Group), left over 100,000 people without power in Berlin.
Since then, the investigation has encountered difficulties.
This recent series of alleged attacks has further heightened the atmosphere of vigilance regarding the country's critical infrastructure, which was already strained by acts of sabotage and espionage that Berlin accuses Moscow of since the start of the war in Ukraine.
It is currently being determined whether the letter author is actually connected to these events, whether he acted alone, or if other people were involved, and whether there is any connection to another attack also considered sabotage, carried out against a substation in Brandenburg, in the east of the country, near the Genshagen thermal power plant.