Elite units within Germany’s federal police are now preparing for blackouts in the country amid fears that the country could completely run out of gas by the end of February.
Specialist elements of Germany’s Federal police force are now reportedly preparing to deal with blackouts in the country amid nationwide fears that the country could run out of gas by the end of February.
Brought about by a perfect storm of Germany’s green agenda meeting the geopolitical reality of the Ukraine War, a loss of Russian gas exports has left the central European state potentially unable to fill the gaping hole left in its energy economy.
Such a problem will now likely result in many in the country being unable to adequately heat their homes over the winter months, with senior officials having also expressed fears that the nation could experience rolling blackouts as a result of the crisis.
According to a report by Die Welt, elite police forces at the Federal level are also now drawing up such plans, with it being announced that units across the country are having their numbers reinforced to deal with the fallout of any possible blackouts.
“We’ve massively increased our reserves again,” President of Federal Police Directorate 11 — Germany’s unified police command — Olaf Lindner is reported as saying.
Lindner went on to specifically cite the possibility of blackouts occurring in Berlin as being one of the main threats that the police were preparing for, but seemed to suggest that such blackouts would occur in the event of some sort of Russian cyberattack, rather than as of the natural result of politicians in Germany grossly mishandling the country’s energy situation.
“For example, it’s about remaining able to act for as long as possible in the event of a cyber attack on the power supply in Berlin,” he said, noting that if the power does go out in Berlin, many petrol station pumps will no longer be able to function in the country, an issue that would only serve to compound energy difficulties.
Germany’s Federal police are not the only force in the country preparing for blackouts in Berlin, with the city’s local police also having announced last month that they were putting in place emergency plans to help deal with the eventuality should it arise.
Having also prepared for possible public backlash against the ongoing cost of living crisis, with many in Germany expected to struggle over the coming winter months, law enforcement in Berlin is also reportedly preparing for the possibility of a full collapse of the city’s energy grid.
With it being warned that Germany could run out of gas as early as February, the blackouts caused by such a grid collapse would be expected to result in rioting and mass looting, a significant challenge to local law enforcement who would likely have limited access to energy themselves.
The possibility of rioting in particular seems to have been plaguing the minds of much of the German elite, with one official warning that protests against the energy crisis over the coming months could make the hundreds of anti-lockdown demos over the past year look like a “children’s birthday party” should things keep getting worse.
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