German Police Secure Explosive Devices Targeting Power Grid

(MENAFN- Live Mint) (Bloomberg) -- Police in Germany discovered 12 explosive devices near overhead power lines in two districts in the country's east, the latest in a spate of incidents targeting the country's electricity infrastructure.

Eight homemade devices were found south of the Bärwalde substation near Lippen, and four were discovered east of the Graustein substation near Schleife, local authorities said in a press release on Saturday.“These were intended to cause damage to high-voltage power lines by inducing a short circuit,” they said. Specialist units defused the devices and forensic experts examined the crime scenes, they said, adding that no damage occurred nor was the electricity supply disrupted.

The discoveries follow several acts of sabotage on Germany's power infrastructure in recent days. On Tuesday, the grid was hit twice on opposite sides of the country, knocking units of coal-fired power plants offline. Two days later, police discovered firing devices that failed to cause damage near a substation in the western city of Dormagen. Another investigation involving a substation near the western city of Aachen is ongoing.

Authorities are searching for a 48-year-old man who claimed responsibility in letters, stating he wanted to target the fossil-fuel industry. Police found explosives during a raid on his home.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Friday that this week's findings pointed to“a case of climate extremism.”

Other incidents targeting Germany's energy infrastructure earlier in the year have put authorities on high alert. In January, an arson attack on Berlin's power grid caused a major blackout, affecting tens of thousands of households. Another on a substation in the southern town of Reutlingen this summer also led to widespread power outages.

Police are also investigating an attack near a Munich office complex that houses defense firms overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

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