12th March, NRW Germany.
According to the press, on the 12th of March RWE woke up to an 80-meter-high electricity pylon fallen. The pylon, critical infrastructure for the mine, provides electricity for their lignite coal extraction operation, so they had to shut down two of the four power circuits. Upon investigation it was found that the pylon had been tampered with, screws had been loosen up and parts of the metal leg sawn, possibly months in advance. The strong wings would’ve then torn the legs, making it quite literally “nature defending itself”!
This is not the first time that RWE receives attacks on electricity pylons, as the critical infrastructure is a target difficult to guard that at the same time is completely necessary for their coal mining operations. In 2016, another electricity pylon was sown off and allowed to fall in their Inden mine. The same year, the overground electricity cables supplying power to the coal conveyor belt in Hambacher Forest were set on fire, leaving a sparky light show in the open hole for most of the night.
