Washington DC Manhole Explosion Reported Near White House as 1,100 Lose Power Before Midterm Elections

A total of 1,176 customers lost power in Washington's Foggy Bottom neighbourhood on Monday, 2 November, following an event at Pepco's I Street Substation. The outage affected an area near the White House, the State Department and George Washington University, a day before Election Day.

Pepco said about 1,100 customers were affected. Electricity was restored to all affected customers by early afternoon. As the utility investigated the substation event, emergency crews responded to reports of smoke from multiple manholes. Separately, a resident described a manhole explosion near the World Bank. Authorities did not confirm that account.

Pepco Reports Substation Event

AlertDC, the city's emergency notification service, reported that 1,176 customers had lost power in Foggy Bottom and nearby parts of downtown. The disruption was concentrated around 23rd and I streets NW, close to George Washington University's main campus. The city alert gave a more precise count than Pepco's estimate of about 1,100 affected customers.

Pepco said an event at its I Street Substation had caused outages affecting about 1,100 customers. Its outage information listed a substation failure as the probable cause. The utility said it was still investigating what had happened and that there was no indication of foul play.

DC Fire and EMS responded to reports of smoke from multiple manholes in the 1800 block of H Street NW. Pepco crews were also at the substation, assessing conditions and working to restore electricity. Officials did not identify a link between the manhole reports and the substation event.

Pepco initially gave no estimated restoration time. It later expected electricity to be restored by 2pm. By 2pm, Pepco reported that power had been restored to all affected customers. The restoration brought the outage to an end, although the cause of the substation event remained under investigation.

Resident Reports Manhole Explosion

PoPville, a Washington local news site, relayed a resident's description of a manhole that had 'exploded right in front of the World Bank'. The resident also said nearby buildings had lost power.

The World Bank's headquarters is at 1818 H Street NW in Foggy Bottom, west of the White House. The resident's account placed the reported explosion near the institution. Pepco and DC Fire and EMS did not confirm an explosion or say that the reported manhole incident had caused the wider power outage.

University and Federal Facilities Affected

George Washington University was among the institutions affected by the disruption. GW Hatchet, the university's student newspaper, reported that classes were cancelled until noon, with most other academic activities suspended for the remainder of the day. The university's main campus is close to the affected streets around 23rd and I streets NW.

Some State Department facilities also reportedly experienced an unscheduled loss of electrical power, according to the Washington Examiner, which cited a Daily Wire report. The reported loss affected federal offices in the same neighbourhood as the substation and university campus. Traffic signals in parts of the area were also reported to be dark.

Outage Comes on Eve of Election Day

The outage occurred on Monday, 2 November, one day before the US midterm elections. Election Day was Tuesday, 3 November.

Reports reviewed did not establish whether polling places or ballot drop boxes were affected. No confirmed disruption to voter check-in systems or election operations in Washington was identified. Pepco's investigation into the substation event remained ongoing.