Berlin street lights fail: 20 minutes of darkness on Sunday evening!

Berlin street lights fail: 20 minutes of darkness on Sunday evening!

On Sunday evening, October 13, 2025, there was a brief but notable incident in Berlin-Mitte: between 6:30 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. the street lights went out for about 20 minutes. The incident was confirmed by a spokesman for Stromnetz Berlin and only affected the street lights, while the traffic lights remained functional. This created an unexpected situation for residents and passers-by, especially during the dark season.

The cause of the failure was still unclear at this point. However, there were reports from the “B.Z.” that the lighting did not work in parts of Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. Despite the failure of the lanterns, electricity was still available, as the spokesman for Stromnetz Berlin explained. An investigation into the exact reasons for the outage will take place on Monday in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Local effects

The outage caused irritation among the population during rush hour on Sunday evening. Residents and passersby found it difficult to see where they were going in the affected areas. Interestingly, the lanterns on the Jannowitz Bridge were said to have glowed green during the incident, but the spokesman was unable to provide any further information on this observation.

Power supply in Germany

The incident in Berlin-Mitte raises questions about the stability and security of Germany's energy supply. In general, as the federal government states in a report dated October 24, 2023, Germany is considered one of the countries with one of the safest electricity grids in the world. However, local power outages, which often last only minutes to hours, can occur - like the incident in Berlin.

In Germany, the importance of electricity will increase sharply in the coming years, especially with regard to the expansion of renewable energies, electromobility and heat pumps, all of which contribute to climate protection. The share of renewable energies rose to 59% in 2024 and offers a solid basis for future energy supply.

In summary, it should be noted that, despite its time limit, the incident in Berlin-Mitte provides food for thought about how important a stable and reliable energy supply is. The federal government has taken numerous measures to secure energy supplies, especially in view of the country's independence from Russian gas supplies and constant efforts to use energy more efficiently. Power grid operators strive to ensure ideal functioning to minimize such outages and ensure public safety.