Blackout

BOLZANO, SOUTH TYROL

Everything good? Yeah?

Do you think it could fly off?

I saw this video. Some fucked-up amusement park in Kazakhstan.

Really. A whole rollercoaster derailed.

Let's do it. Let's do it, you and me.

Hello, tickets, please.

-Am I famous? -No.

Am I one of Dad's friends?

Am I one of Mum's friends?

No.

DUGGEE

-A dog isn't a person. -He can talk.

And he lives in a house like people.

That doesn't count. It's got to be a person.

-Hello. Where are your parents? -We don't have any.

They're divorced.

May I?

We offer travel companions for children. Tell your parents.

-Only at the weekend. -Yes, Granny was moaning about that.

I can see I'm dealing with professionals.

Don't worry. We're being picked up in Berlin.

-Have a good trip. -Thanks.

Anyone else just board?

EIBENSTOCK HYDROPOWER STATION, SAXONY

Parties, festive lighting and the heating on high. Fun, fun, fun.

-Is there an international match? -There's always some game on.

Amazing how much power they're churning out again today.

Wait a minute. Something's not right.

I never thought my mum would ever marry such a chickenshit.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the regional express train from Brandenburg to Frankfurt via Erfurt

is arriving on platform eleven.

The next station is Berlin-Friedrichstrasse.

Something's not right here.

Shut it down.

It's a frequency drop. We need to send in more water.

The generators are going crazy. Shut it down.

-Are you sure? -It'll blow up in our faces. Shut down.

Emergency shutdown. We're going off grid. Now.

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

Shit.

Hurry up!

Exercise caution when...

Excuse me, is your phone working?

-No, there's no network. -Mine neither. Okay, thanks.

Oh God.

-Shit, my phone. You okay? -Has something happened?

-You okay? -Has something happened?

I don't know. Just a stupid glitch.

BELANTIS AMUSEMENT PARK, LEIPZIG

-It's okay, yeah? -Yeah. Yeah.

Follow the light.

Look to the left.

Good.

Can you tell me your name?

-Pierre Manzano. -When were you born?

17.03.1977.

-Any pain? -My arm, but it's okay.

Why did the traffic lights go out?

We have to tow away your car now...

-For the pain. We'll take you to hospital. -Thank you.

-No need. I'm fine. -Shall we call anyone for you?

No one, thanks.

Thank you.

How long will the power cut last?

I need to know the fastest way to get to Basel.

There's no way I'm spending the night on the platform.

Excuse me. There are hotels behind the station.

If you hurry, I'm sure you'll get a room.

Can you tell me where the ICE 691 is?

We're experiencing a system disruption.

My two daughters are seven. They're on that train. Can you find out where it is?

No connection. I can't reach the control centre.

-The authorities have been informed. -I'd know that.

I've just left the Interior Ministry. I am the authorities.

Please be patient.

Next, please.

I can't give you any information. We're experiencing...

I'm scared.

Me, too.

The emergency power has come on. We'll be off soon, I'm sure.

We'll be off soon, okay?

Are there wolves here?

-They're only in fairy tales. -On the radio they said there were wolves.

In Brandenburg. In the forest.

No, there are no wolves here.

And anyway, we're on the train. No need to worry.

We'll be off soon, I'm sure.

Shall we call Mum?

I'll call her.

Manzano?

Yes.

The TV's not working. Neither's the internet.

-You're an engineer. Can't you fix it? -You know I'm not an engineer.

Yeah, but Wi-Fi, pay TV for the whole block.

All free because of you.

So can you fix it?

Atalanta are playing today.

I feared as much.

You want a game?

Fine. You've persuaded me.

Celentano!

Where did you get that scratch?

I mean, it doesn't look bad. Makes you kind of interesting.

Do you have a...

What was that?

I've already looked. It's not the fuses.

-Is everything okay? -Yeah.

Everything's fine.

Could you shine some light here?

The barrier's not working.

Thanks.

BERLIN, INTERIOR MINISTRY

We're to go to the situation room. Severin's there.

What's happened?

A sudden voltage drop. Affecting Berlin, Brandenburg, parts of eastern Germany.

Shit. And the cause?

No one knows anything.

Something's happening down there.

They're coming for us. They... Look. Look!

-I can't look down. -You don't have to.

Give me your hand. Give me your hand!

There. The fire brigade. Look.

Look at me.

Look me in the eyes.

Okay, Max. Everything will be okay.

Everything will be okay. Yeah?

They're getting us out.

They're firefighters. They know what they're doing.

-Carmen? -Yes?

Could you do something for me? A personal favour?

-Lisa and Marie? -Can you please find out where ICE 691 is?

No power here either?

No, minister. We're switching to emergency power, then we'll start the networks.

Can anyone explain what's happened?

National Crisis Management Unit. Or is this the wrong place?

Where's Stöcker?

Dr Stöcker is on a business trip.

Great.

I'm Frauke Michelsen, his deputy.

Good. So, what's happened?

There are various scenarios.

Probably the simultaneous outage of several main power lines

has caused unusual fluctuations in the power grid.

Power fluctuations? I was dragged out of the opera for this?

When will the power be back on?

Normally, these fluctuations last milliseconds,

but the network operators don't seem able to get them under control.

Cause?

We suspect some kind of domino effect. Give me half an hour to find out more.

No water, no flushing toilets, no internet.

People can no longer post selfies or take a shit.

I'll give you ten minutes.

Oh man.

-What's that? -A smart meter.

It calculates your power consumption to the second.

Do I have one, too?

Manzano!

You're a genius.

Not an engineer, but a genius.

Open the bottle.

Turn it back on. Can you turn it back on?

Loss of stability, cascades due to overloading, voltage drop.

The operators need to give us more detail.

-They say it's temporary. -They always do.

But the power's out in half of Germany.

Bremen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein are off the grid now, too.

So the whole of the north.

Italy, France and Scandinavia are also affected.

-What? -What?

-Okay, we'll go over now. -Yes.

-Has the crisis team been convened? -That's for the minister to decide.

The police liaison officer and press officer are here.

Good.

Find me the report with prevention measures for blackout scenario 2011.

Let me know if you find out about the ICE train.

I don't think I can turn it back on again.

That's not good. That's not good at all.

You used to be able to just change a fuse and the lights came back on.

Today, you need to be an engineer to even understand it.

Shit.

Those numbers there,

what do they mean?

09, 12, 18, 95. Shit.

What is it?

Do you have a problem?

Yes.

But I'm afraid it's not just me.

This is the current picture.

Saarland was the last to go off grid. This means Germany is completely offline.

I thought the German power grid was secure.

How can a sudden blackout like this happen?

Think of the power grid like your blood circulation.

Power stations distribute electricity through the body like the heart.

If the blood pressure is suddenly too high or too low, it goes dark.

Are we talking about a heart attack?

Or are we already dead?

It doesn't look good. There are numerous fires and traffic accidents.

Thousands are stuck in lifts, underground trains.