Power Outage Hits Washington D.C.'s Foggy Bottom Neighborhood

A major power outage struck Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood on Monday morning, disrupting key government facilities, international organizations, and the campus of George Washington University. Utility company Pepco reported that more than 1,100 customers lost electricity following an incident at the I Street Substation.

The sudden blackout affected several high-profile locations in the capital's diplomatic district, including parts of the U.S. State Department, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Traffic signals also went dark across parts of the neighborhood, prompting a heavy presence of emergency responders and police.

D.C. Fire and EMS units responded to the 1800 block of H Street NW following reports of smoke billowing from multiple underground manholes. Pepco crews arrived on the scene to assist with the power surge and electrical outages while investigating the underlying cause of the substation failure.

George Washington University bore a significant brunt of the disruption, with more than 70 residential and academic buildings losing electricity. In response to the outage, university administration canceled most in-person and remote classes for the remainder of the day, though certain professional schools and regional campuses maintained modified operations.

The timing of the blackout—occurring on the eve of midterm elections—drew widespread attention and concern across social media platforms. However, Pepco explicitly stated that there was "no indication of foul play" involved in the substation incident.

The scope of the disruption shifted throughout the day as tracking maps indicated roughly 1,176 affected customers at one point. Estimates regarding restoration timelines varied initially among utility maps and emergency trackers, leaving students and neighborhood residents waiting for clarity.

Pepco later announced that electricity had been successfully restored to all impacted customers shortly after 2 p.m. Utility officials urged the public to stay clear of ongoing work areas while crews concluded their safety assessments in the neighborhood.