Darkness over Berlin: Street lights glow green after a power outage!

Darkness over Berlin: Street lights glow green after a power outage!

On Sunday evening, October 13, 2025, street lighting went out in several Berlin districts for around 20 minutes. The districts were particularly affected Berlin-Mitte, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. The power outage occurred between 6:30 and 6:50 p.m. and was caused by an error in a lighting control database. This was confirmed by a spokesman for Stromnetz Berlin.

Despite the outage, the power supply in the affected parts of the city remained intact. The traffic lights were continuously supplied with electricity, so traffic safety was not affected. The incident only lasted a short time, but was quickly resolved thanks to a short-term switch on the part of the operators. However, this caused an unusual visual effect: when switched back on around 7 p.m., some street lights glowed with a greenish light that was not the current one Festival of Lights belonged, but represented a technical phenomenon.

Unusual light color

The greenish light occurred because certain lamps, particularly metal halide high-pressure discharge lamps, emit a changed color spectrum during their start-up phase. As a rule, this start-up phase lasts about two minutes, which means that the lamps initially emit a bluish or greenish light until they reach their full brightness. Normally this effect is not significant because the lamps are switched on at dusk.

It is noteworthy that there were no further disruptions to street lighting in the affected districts. The gas lanterns, however, were not affected by the incident. Stromnetz Berlin manages around 208,000 electric street lights and around 17,500 gas lanterns, which are normally operated via a central radio signal. However, in the event of a failure, the lamps can also be controlled using timers.

Power outages in context

Power outages are a sign of vulnerabilities in the power grid and can be due to a variety of causes, including technical failures and human error. The last few years have increased the complexity of the power supply, particularly due to the growing demand for electricity and the adaptation to new technologies. The demands on the power grids are increasing in times when renewable energies are becoming increasingly important and the infrastructure has to respond to new challenges. Studies show that power outages can have a wide range of impacts, from economic losses to disruptions to public safety.

The rapid resolution of the outage on Sunday evening shows that the Berlin power grid has effective mechanisms for dealing with disruptions. But the incident could serve as a reminder of how important continuous monitoring and maintenance of technical systems is to ensure the reliability of the power supply.