A technical defect in a substation caused a widespread power outage in Saxony-Anhalt. Several cities in the Harz district have been affected since late Sunday evening. According to one report, around 100,000 residents were temporarily without power.

Update at 11.30 a.m .: After a large-scale power failure on Monday night in the Harz district, the disruption has not yet been completely resolved. In Halberstadt there are still power outages, a spokesman for the Harz district told the German Press Agency on Monday. According to the network operator, the disruption should be fixed during the day, he said.

Original message: In the Harz district, the electricity had failed over a large area. The towns of Halberstadt, Blankenburg, parts of Wernigerode and several communities were without electricity for several hours on Monday night, the district fire chief of the Harz district said. Tens of thousands of households were affected.

According to the grid operator Avacon, the cause was freezing rain and the associated damage to the power grid. A line is said to have snapped. According to Avacon, several emergency teams were on their way to restore the supply. “The first customers could be supplied again after just one hour,” it said. Since 2 a.m. all customers have been completely taken care of again. However, the MDR reported that there was another power outage in Blankenburg in the morning.

There was a large area power failure in the Harz district. The towns of Halberstadt, Blankenburg, parts of Wernigerode and several communities were without electricity for several hours on Monday night, the district fire chief of the Harz district told the German Press Agency.

The situation center of the state government in Magdeburg issued an official hazard warning at around 12:30 a.m., which was canceled after around three hours. The MDR reported on Monday morning, citing the fire brigade, that around 100,000 citizens were affected by the power failure. Now everything is working again.