BERLIN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- German media reported Wednesday that electricity supply in southwestern Berlin has been gradually restored after an attack on power lines left thousands of households in the snow-covered capital without electricity for five days.
German news agency dpa, citing grid operator Stromnetz Berlin, reported that electricity would be restored to all affected households over the next few hours after a temporary cable installation was successfully tested overnight.
About 45,000 households and more than 2,200 businesses lost power early Saturday after cables leading to a power station were set ablaze, triggering Berlin's longest post-war outage.
A group calling itself Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) posted a statement online on Sunday claiming responsibility, saying it had "successfully sabotaged" infrastructure linked to a gas power station in Lichterfelde.
Berlin's governing mayor, Kai Wegner, described the incident as "a terrorist act" at a news conference on Tuesday.
"We have experienced a terrorist attack in this city," Wegner said. "A left-wing terrorist attack. I want to reiterate: This was not a minor arson attack, nor was it sabotage. This was a terrorist act."
Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case on suspicion of terrorism, German news agency dpa reported on Tuesday. The authority said it suspects offenses including membership in a terrorist organization, unconstitutional sabotage, arson, and disruption of public services. ■