A day before the midterm elections, a power outage in Washington’s Foggy Bottom cut electricity to roughly 1,100 Pepco customers and affected traffic lights, parts of George Washington University, and the U.S. State Department, according to local outlets and officials.
Utility’s early read: substation trouble
Pepco traced the disruption to equipment issues at its I Street Substation in Northwest D.C., WUSA-TV reported. In a public update, Pepco said the cause remained under investigation and noted there was “no indication of foul play at this time.”
What went dark
Multiple State Department facilities experienced an unscheduled loss of power, a department official told the Daily Wire, according to correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan. She reported the department was working with Pepco to understand the outage and initially had “no clear timeline” for restoration.
On the streets
Darkened traffic signals slowed busy intersections, and smoke was seen coming from several manholes, according to the Washington Examiner. Western Journal reported GWU canceled morning classes and later allowed some afternoon sessions to proceed in a mix of in-person and online formats.
Power back by mid-afternoon
By about 2:20 p.m., Pepco said service had been restored to all affected customers, 7News DC reported. The utility said its investigation into the precise cause was ongoing.
