Power grid attacks prompt Upper Austrian plants to test black-start systems

Power grid operators in Upper Austria are preparing for targeted attacks by strengthening their ability to restore electricity quickly after a failure, ORF reported on Friday.

Several high-voltage facilities in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, remain out of service after what investigators believe were targeted acts of sabotage. Although the electricity supply remained stable, the incident highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.

Michael Haselauer, managing director of Netz Oberösterreich, said the power grid could not be fully protected against such attacks. “Guarding it around the clock does not help either,” he said. The priority, he added, was to ensure that damaged infrastructure could be repaired as quickly as possible.

Haselauer also identified the Google data centre planned for Upper Austria in 2027 as a potential target. The facility will include its own substation in Kronstorf. “Digital infrastructure is increasingly becoming critical infrastructure,” he said.

He said operators of data centres in Europe, including Netz Oberösterreich, were increasingly relying on decentralised systems that were more resilient to attacks and other technical failures.

APG, Netz Oberösterreich and Linz Netz are investing around 400 million euros in a new 220-kilovolt supply ring and the modernisation of nine substations.

The operators also practise restoring the network after a complete blackout. Power plants with black-start capability can restart the grid in island mode without relying on the wider network.

“We practise this digitally every year,” Haselauer said. The procedure has also been tested in real-world conditions, when most of the 110-kilovolt network was shut down over a weekend and then re-energised using the black-start-capable plants. He said the test was successful.