Police suspect criminal act in substation disruption near Cologne

A disruption at an electricity substation near the German city of Cologne appears to have been caused deliberately, police said on Wednesday.

"Based on the current state of the investigation, we do not believe this was a technical fault, but a deliberate act," a police spokesman said.

The cause and circumstances of the incident in Bergheim, west of Cologne, remained unclear, with investigations under way.

Police were called to the substation around 8 pm (1800 GMT) on Tuesday because of a technical problem, a police spokesman said.

Several power lines failed following a short circuit, but there was no disruption to the general electricity supply.

The substation is operated by energy company Amprion, which also confirmed the incident.

Amprion said experts were working with security authorities to establish what happened and assess the impact. Police said they were coordinating closely with Amprion and grid operator RWE.

Earlier on Tuesday, unidentified people tried to cause short circuits on extra-high-voltage power lines near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

Authorities said they succeeded in two cases. Police are investigating suspected sabotage.

There have been several other incidents involving Germany's power infrastructure in recent months.

In January, suspected left-wing extremists set fire to high-voltage power lines near a power plant in south-western Berlin, leaving tens of thousands of households and businesses without electricity for days.