RWE Power reported that five coal plant blocks at two locations went offline following suspected sabotage at a substation in Bergheim near Cologne on Tuesday evening. ^[1] German police suspect a deliberate attack on a power substation near Cologne after a short circuit caused multiple power lines to fail. ^[2] Herbert Reul, Interior Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, announced on a press conference that authorities are investigating a short circuit at a power substation in Bergheim as potential sabotage. ^[3] In Neurath der Block G und in Niederaußem Block H wurden am Vormittag wieder ans Netz geschaltet. ^[4] Laut RWE Power sind zwei der fünf betroffenen Kraftwerksblöcke am Vormittag wieder ans Netz gegangen. ^[5] The affected coal plant blocks in the Rhenish Coalfield had a total capacity of approximately 4,200 megawatts and were supplying about 3,000 megawatts of power to the grid at the time of the incident. ^[6] A police spokesperson stated that authorities initially suspected a technical malfunction at the Amprion substation in Rheidt but now believe it was a deliberate act. ^[7] A similar suspected attack on a power substation in Brandenburg occurred on Tuesday, where explosive devices were found and at least one detonation was heard. ^[8] Investigators remain unclear about who is responsible for the attacks in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia or if there is a connection between the two incidents. ^[9] Authorities are investigating two main theories regarding the perpetrator: involvement by a foreign state or by left-wing extremists. ^[10] On the same Tuesday morning, unknown attackers used homemade rockets to attack a substation near the Jänschwalde power plant in Brandenburg, causing short circuits in two instances. ^[11] Police in Essen stated that preliminary investigation findings indicate the short circuit at the Bergheim substation was not a technical defect but a deliberate criminal act. ^[12]