Berlin to restore power after arson attack causes record outage

Electricity will be restored to tens of thousands of households in Berlin on Wednesday after a suspected arson attack on a power station by leftist activists caused the longest outage in the German capital since World War Two.

"We will gradually bring the power grid back online in the affected areas from 11 am (1000 GMT) today," said Berlin mayor Kai Wegner in a statement.

A blaze early on Saturday destroyed a cable duct over a canal, cutting off power in about 45,000 households and more than 2,000 businesses in the southwest of the city at a time of freezing temperatures.

The far-left Volcano activist group, which last year said it attacked a power pylon near Tesla's factory outside Berlin, claimed responsibility.

The German army was called in to support residents struggling from the outage which also affected mobile phone connections, heating and trains.

The prolonged fallout has prompted some politicians to demand more investment to protect the capital's infrastructure, especially since the domestic intelligence agency has warned about growing risks from left-wing militants.

-Madeline Chambers/Reuters