What happened

A fire at grid operator Netze BW's Reutlingen-West substation triggered a major power outage across Reutlingen and the neighbouring towns of Wannweil and Kirchentellinsfurt, cutting power to roughly 20,000 customers from around 1:45am. Investigators found evidence of three separate points of origin, a damaged perimeter fence and traces consistent with the use of accelerants, and treated the fire as suspected arson; Stuttgart prosecutors confirmed indications that accelerants had been used. About half of affected customers were reconnected within five and a half hours, but roughly 7,600 households remained without power by midday. Hospitals, nursing homes, telephone and internet service, and traffic lights in the affected area were disrupted, with preliminary damage estimated in the millions of euros. German officials and media drew direct comparisons to the September 2025 and January 2026 Berlin pylon and cable-bridge attacks and the May 2026 Garching pylon fires, with some officials pointing toward left-extremist involvement, though no group had claimed responsibility in the cited reporting.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.