Schleswig-Holstein power outage affects 40,000 households

A major power outage struck the West Coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on Sunday, October 18, 2026, affecting up to 40,000 households across five districts: Nordfriesland, Dithmarschen, Steinburg, Schleswig-Flensburg, and Rendsburg-Eckernförde.

The disruption was triggered by a fault in the 110,000-volt high-voltage network, which caused several substations to shut down automatically. While the network operator, SH Netz, initially reported a short circuit, subsequent reports identified a defective transformer as the cause. The resulting voltage surges led to multiple fires, including incidents at substations in Friedrichstadt and Linden, as well as a fire in a residential electrical box in Bunsoh that destroyed a thatched-roof house, causing an estimated 500,000 euros in damage.

Beyond residential impacts, the outage caused failures in medical equipment at nursing homes and disrupted local telephone and mobile networks. The FDP political group has called for a transparent investigation by the state government and the network operator, citing concerns regarding the complexity of the energy transition and the potential for sabotage against critical infrastructure.