In recent days, several regions in Baden-Württemberg experienced power outages, some of them lengthy. On February 22, 2026, faults in the vicinity of a substation in Villingen triggered a widespread outage in the Schwarzwald-Baar district, causing traffic lights to fail, elevators to stop, and authorities to activate emergency call centers. On the same day, a fire in a transformer station on Herrenberger Straße led to disruptions in Tübingen, and emergency services also reported limitations at key facilities. As early as February 5, 2026, a fault also affected Stuttgart, where a brief voltage drop triggered longer-lasting effects on technology and infrastructure.
Black Forest-Baar District: Outage Affects Many Locations Simultaneously
The outage in the Black Forest-Baar District began on February 22, 2026, at approximately 1:25 p.m. and ended at approximately 2:17 p.m., leaving the region without service for almost an hour. Reports list Villingen, Bad Dürrheim, Dauchingen, Brigachtal, and Unterkirnach as among the affected towns and municipalities. Residents also reported problems in Triberg, St. Georgen, Schonach, and parts of the surrounding area as far as Furtwangen, with varying degrees of impact in different areas.
The disruption immediately impacted public infrastructure, causing traffic lights to fail in several locations and resulting in temporary traffic flow without signal control. Elevators stopped working, and emergency responders had to rescue a few people. Several local sources reported that not only the power but also the mobile network was affected in some areas, while network technicians isolated faults and gradually reconnected individual connections. Emergency call centers set up temporary emergency call points at fire stations as service was gradually restored.
Tübingen: Fire in Transformer Station Cuts Off Power to Old Town
In Tübingen, a fire broke out in a transformer station on Herrenberger Straße at 9:44 a.m. on February 22, 2026, leaving parts of the old town, the western part of the city, and the Schlossberg (Castle Hill) without power. A total of 773 buildings were affected. The city’s utility company rerouted the network and gradually restored power to the affected areas. Most areas were reconnected to the grid within 30 minutes, but buildings in the immediate vicinity of the transformer station were not reconnected until 4:04 p.m., causing the work to take more than six hours.
The municipal utility restored power to many areas, but the situation around the affected substation remained tense for some time. A fire directly damages equipment, so protective systems immediately isolate affected sections. Technicians then test each connection before reconnecting it.
Stuttgart: Switching Error at Substation Triggers Brief Voltage Drop
On February 5, 2026, a power grid disruption occurred in Stuttgart. Stuttgart Netze (the city’s energy provider) cites a switching error during construction work at a substation as the cause. This error resulted in a voltage drop lasting 0.06 seconds, triggering a cascade of safety shutdowns. Although the dip was extremely brief, numerous systems throughout the city reacted with shutdowns or malfunctions. Elevators, traffic lights, and telecommunications services were affected. In some areas, complete stabilization took several hours.
A very short voltage dip is sufficient because many systems utilize undervoltage protection. Elevators, control systems, and individual equipment then enter a safe state, and some components do not restart automatically. This creates on-site work while operators manually restore systems to normal operation.
Common denominator – protection logic, grid nodes, and a lengthy return to normal supply
The three events occurred independently, but they reveal a clear pattern. Faults at network nodes such as substations or transformer stations affect many connections simultaneously, which is why the consequences are immediate in everyday life. Protection systems quickly shut down while network operators locate defects and faults and gradually reconnect them. (KOB)