Name: Power outage costs Berlin economy millions of euros
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T17:17:35.986Z
Duration: 2 min 49 s
Description: A power outage after an arson attack has caused massive losses for businesses in the German capital. Many were ill-prepared for a crisis of the magnitude experienced. Entrepreneurs were left scrambling for ways to power their machines.

A power outage after an arson attack has caused massive losses for businesses in the German capital. Many were ill-prepared for a crisis of the magnitude experienced. Entrepreneurs were left scrambling for ways to power their machines.

Berlin

A prolonged power outage in Berlin impacted approximately 3,000 companies, with many unable to operate for several days. The Berlin Brandenburg Business Association estimates the resulting economic damage at millions of euros, primarily due to unfulfilled orders and halted production.

Some businesses managed to continue limited operations using creative solutions such as electric cars and generators, though these provided only a fraction of the required power. The outage, caused by an attack, underscored the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and its significant consequences for both the population and the economy.

Power outage costs Berlin economy millions of euros

This historic industrial building in Berlin is home to 150 companies. And yet only a few have managed to keep operating during this week's power outage that lasted several days. Like Winter Design, they came up with a creative solution. We ran a cable up here and the car is parked down here in the courtyard. Power from the electric car has allowed the industrial designer to continue working. There's a standard 230 volt plug in here and a 50 meter long cable reel. And then we were able to operate pretty much everything. Silvio Schobinger owns the commercial complex. He's experiencing for the first time the impact of a massive power outage on his tenants. Essentially, besides those tenants who were able to help themselves, one can't operate businesses here. It's simply impossible to work. A total of 3,000 companies have been affected by the power outage, according to the Berlin Brandenburg Business Association. The damage amounts to millions, primarily because orders cannot be fulfilled. Like in this coffee roastery where the mill has gone silent. You're just looking for something else to do right now. Like you're trying to deal with emails, you're trying to create some social media output. But roasting everything that was planned unfortunately isn't working at all right now. The massive power outage was caused by an attack. The operator of the business park has since organized generators. They are currently being filled with diesel. Generators provide a bit of basic technology. It's nowhere near enough for proper business operations. At best, it's 15 to 20 percent of the power we need. That's too little for this pastry chef's freezers. She, too, is an entrepreneur at Goetzwerk. Her entire stock is lost. We had cakes in the freezer, which of course now thawed. We want to donate them and are taking them to the emergency shelters, so we don't have to throw them away and can do some good. The power outage in Berlin, which lasted for days, has made many in Germany realize how vulnerable critical infrastructure is and what devastating consequences disruptions can have for the population and the economy.

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