Power Out in Foggy Bottom: Substation Event Leaves 1,176 Pepco Customers Dark on Election Eve

Parts of Foggy Bottom and downtown Washington spent Monday without power after an event at a Pepco substation, an outage that reached government buildings a few blocks from the White House on the eve of Election Day. AlertDC put the count at 1,176 customers affected, and listed the probable cause as a failure in the substation.

Pepco, in a statement issued Monday, put its own figure at approximately 1,100 customers and located the event at its I Street Substation in Foggy Bottom. "Pepco crews are on site assessing conditions and are working safely and as quickly as possible to restore power," the company said. "At this time, the cause of the event remains under investigation." Because the situation was still developing, Pepco said it did not yet have an estimated restoration time.

The outage was not only a lights-out event. DC Fire and EMS reported responding for smoke coming from multiple manholes in the 1800 block of H Street NW, near the Farragut West Metro station, with Pepco on scene to assist with a power surge and electrical outages in the area. A reader report carried by PoPville described a manhole explosion in front of the World Bank and power out in surrounding buildings.

Foggy Bottom is one of the most institution-dense neighborhoods in the capital: the State Department's headquarters and George Washington University both sit inside the affected area, and the Washington Examiner reported agency buildings and the university among those hit. Pepco asked residents and visitors to stay clear of work areas and directed customers to pepco.com, the Pepco mobile app, or 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662) to report outages and check restoration updates; AlertDC listed 202-833-7500 for updates.