After the momentous arson attack on Berlin’s power supply, the Berlin Senate wants to monitor critical points more closely via video. This was announced by the Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey, who is responsible for energy.
The SPD politician explained that one percent of Berlin’s 35,000 kilometer electricity network currently runs above ground. Three quarters of these lines are already monitored with cameras, usually on private property, such as that of the network operator Stromnetz Berlin.
Privacy vs. security?
“The other area, which is not under video surveillance, is on public road land,” says Giffey. According to them, this was also the case with the cable bridge over the Teltow Canal, which was the target of the suspected left-wing extremist arson attack on Saturday.
Because this is a public space with a riverside path running there, data protection regulations have so far prevented video surveillance. The balance between security and freedom, between security and data protection must now be reassessed. In this context, complex legal questions would also have to be clarified.
AI should help
According to Giffey, more video surveillance should be supplemented by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This would allow certain changes at the locations, such as heat development, to be quickly identified. “This is a very specific thing that we will and want to do,” said Giffey. This will help to further secure critical infrastructure.
Increased police patrols
Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) says he supports this approach; he said he wanted to “do it quickly.” He also emphasized that critical points of the power grid will be increasingly monitored by the police after the attack. “It’s important to me that no one thinks that something isn’t protected or secured.”
After the arson attack on a cable bridge in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district, for which a left-wing extremist group claimed responsibility, 45,000 households and 2,200 companies were without power in southwest Berlin on Saturday morning. According to the operator Stromnetz Berlin, all households are not expected to be back online until Thursday afternoon.