WASHINGTON — The White House, State Department, and Capitol were affected by widespread power outages reported across Washington and its suburbs Tuesday afternoon, and an official says they were caused by an explosion at a Maryland power plant.
D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokeswoman Robyn Johnson says about 8,000 customers in Washington were affected Tuesday afternoon.
Utility company Pepco says it's investigating. Spokesman Sean Kelly said he didn't have details about locations or how many customers were affected overall.
Electricity in the White House press briefing room dipped around lunchtime, but service resumed within seconds.
Power also went out at the State Department during the daily press briefing.
Metro tweeted that several train stations were on backup power.
University of Maryland officials say their entire campus was affected.
.@marieharf having to shine phone light on reporters asking questions here. pic.twitter.com/TF4lJYSsZX
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) April 7, 2015
Weirdness at WhiteHouse. Because of power outage in NW DC, WH shut down. Locked in. Can't leave grounds
— Bill Press (@bpshow) April 7, 2015
Hits everything from White House to State Dept. - Widespread power outages hit across Washington, affecting govern... http://t.co/4SZgvHWu4g
— Remotenewsservice (@Remotenews) April 7, 2015
Map shows gridlock in DC because of current power outage pic.twitter.com/2177UYe75J
— Dean Hoffmeyer (@DeanHoffmeyer) April 7, 2015
