Berlin’s 20,000 homes lost power while mayor played tennis before outage

Crisis management met personal time as Berlin’s mayor juggled a power emergency—and a tennis game. How 20,000 residents coped without electricity.

, and Administrator

2026 January 8 . 5:05 AM

1 min read

In this picture I can see there is a bus on to right and left and there are few buildings into... — In this picture I can see there is a bus on to right and left and there are few buildings into right and left. There are few poles with lights and there is a bridge on to left. The buildings have glass windows.

Berlin’s 20,000 homes lost power while mayor played tennis before outage

A major power failure hit parts of Berlin last weekend, leaving nearly 20,000 homes and businesses without electricity. While coordinating the response, the city’s governing mayor, Kai Wegner, also found time for a game of tennis just before the blackout began.

The outage hit the districts of Nikolassee, Zehlendorf, Wannsee, and Lichterfelde on Saturday. Around 19,900 households and 850 businesses lost power due to a damaged cable bridge near the Teltow Canal. Wegner, who was at home in his office at the time, stayed involved in crisis management, gathering updates and overseeing the response.

Repair crews worked quickly to fix the damage. Power was fully restored to all affected areas by 11 a.m. on Wednesday—sooner than initially expected. Before the outage began, Wegner had been playing tennis that Saturday. Details about his opponent or the match itself were not disclosed.

The incident caused widespread disruption but ended faster than predicted. Wegner balanced crisis coordination with personal time, though his tennis partner remains unnamed. All affected areas now have electricity again.