Power Outage at Freie Universität Berlin
Update: March 19, 2025
Power Outage at Freie Universität Berlin: Repairs Successfully Completed – Electricity Restored to All Buildings – Nearly All Buildings Fully Operational
Power has been fully restored to Freie Universität Berlin following intensive repair work. All university buildings now have electricity again.
In response to the power outage in the early hours of Monday, March 3, 2025, teams of experts began working tirelessly to assess and repair the damage. Over the past few days two damaged areas were successfully repaired. Building security and maintenance systems were thoroughly inspected, and almost all university buildings have resumed normal operations. However, one building remains closed due to irregularities in its fire alarm system and must remain closed for the time being. Teams continue to work diligently to resolve this issue so that normal operations can resume as soon as possible.
University leadership would like to express its gratitude to all the people involved for their dedication and hard work. Special thanks go to the in-house maintenance workers and custodians in the different departments, as well as to administrative staff, technical/engineering staff – and, of course, research staff – who all made important contributions to quickly restoring power to the various buildings. Many thanks as well to the students, researchers, and employees of Freie Universität Berlin for their understanding and patience over the course of this challenging development.
Update: March 17, 2025
Power Outage at Freie Universität Berlin: Initial Repair Works Concluded – Power Restored to Buildings
Repair works have been concluded at two damaged sites following a power outage at Freie Universität Berlin in the early hours of Monday, March 3, 2025. The buildings connected to these sites are now once again with power. The security and building maintenance systems for these locations have been evaluated and the buildings are gradually being approved for use.
Despite the considerable progress that has been and continues to be made, five of the university’s roughly 290 buildings will provisionally be without power until March 19 or 20, 2025. In four of these buildings, emergency generators are ensuring that essential research and IT operations can continue to be carried out.
Freie Universität Berlin’s Executive Board continues to be in close contact with everyone involved to ensure that the negative effects of the power outage are kept to a minimum. The Executive Board would like to thank everyone affected for their patience and understanding while these necessary repair works are being carried out. In particular, its thanks go out to all Freie Universität employees who are tirelessly working to repair the damage. This especially includes the employees of the Engineering and Utilities Division and the custodians of the individual departments.
Update: March 12, 2025
Power Outage at Freie Universität Berlin: Cause for Power Outage Found – Repair Work Underway
The cause for the power outage at Freie Universität Berlin in the early hours of Monday, March 3, 2025, has been identified and initial repair work is now underway. Measurements taken at two of the damaged areas revealed that medium-voltage cables had worn out due to age and had burned through. This resulted in power outages on the university’s campus in Dahlem. Work to repair the defective cables has already begun.
Despite the considerable progress that has been and continues to be made, ten of the university’s roughly 290 buildings will provisionally be without power for the rest of the week. This will allow for the necessary repair work to be carried out quickly and efficiently. In four of these buildings, emergency generators are ensuring that essential research and IT operations can continue to be carried out.
Freie Universität Berlin’s Executive Board is in close contact with everyone involved to ensure that the negative effects of the power outage are kept to a minimum. The Executive Board would like to thank everyone affected for their patience and understanding while this necessary repair work is being carried out. In particular, its thanks go out to all Freie Universität employees who are tirelessly working to repair the damage.
Update: March 4, 2025, 03:00 PM
Regular operations have now resumed in almost all Freie Universität Berlin buildings following the power outage in the early hours of Monday, March 3, 2025. Thanks to the incredible team effort of employees from various administrative divisions, alongside researchers and staff from multiple university departments, measures were quickly implemented to mitigate the impact of the outage in approximately twenty buildings, as well as the resulting disruptions to IT services.
Of the university’s roughly 290 buildings, only ten are still experiencing restricted services due to the power outage at this time.
Freie Universität Berlin is working with great urgency to determine the cause of the power outage. There are no indications that it was the result of a cyberattack.
The research buildings on the Dahlem campus that remain affected are currently being supplied with emergency power or other alternative solutions. Activities normally conducted in these buildings have been temporarily relocated.
The Executive Board of Freie Universität Berlin extends its gratitude to the employees of the Engineering and Utilities Division, FUB-IT, the Facilities and Properties Service Unit, and the affected university departments, as well as to those who provided external support. Their collaborative and constructive efforts enabled swift repairs of the power and technical outages and the implementation of temporary solutions to safeguard laboratories, protect technical equipment, and preserve research results. Their dedication made it possible for the university to resume regular operations in a remarkably short time.
Update: March 3, 2025, 12:30 PM
The Campus Library and Philological Library have re-opened. That means basically all Freie Universität libraries are now back to their regular opening hours.
Monday, March 3, 2025, 11:30 AM
Due to a power outage in the early hours of Monday, March 3, 2025, several buildings on the Freie Universität campus are still without electricity and will remain closed for the time being. Many of the buildings impacted by the power outage are located on Arnimallee, Takustrasse, Grunewaldstrasse, and other nearby streets in Dahlem (Berlin). University buildings on the campuses in Lankwitz and Düppel were not affected.
Until the situation can be fixed, some buildings, libraries, and other university facilities may have limited opening hours or have to remain closed. Individual departments are providing relevant information about potential restricted services or hours via social media, on their websites, or through other avenues of communication. The power outage has also affected different areas of Freie Universität Berlin’s IT systems. Currently, not all university employees can access their e-mail and are experiencing restricted communication capabilities. University websites were also temporarily down due to the power outage.
Based on the information currently available, the cause of the outage was due to a malfunction in the electrical system, which then had knock-on effects on technical equipment, fuses, and power cables. Right now work is being done to safely secure scientific experiments, cooling systems, and other equipment. There is no information as of yet on potential long-term damage. Since late last night, employees at Freie Universität Berlin have been working to stabilize the power supply and other systems, including activating emergency power sources. They are still working on getting all systems back up and running. Despite these efforts, some buildings may still experience delays in having their power restored. There are no indications that this outage was the result of a cyberattack.