Updated November 2, 2026, 2:45 p.m. ET — Power is back in Foggy Bottom. Pepco said at 2:12 p.m. that power “has now been restored to all impacted customers,” roughly five hours after the outage began. The company had said at 1:46 p.m. that it expected everyone back by 2 p.m. The cause of the event at the I Street Substation is still under investigation, and Pepco said there is no indication of foul play. George Washington University’s classes remain cancelled for the rest of the day. The original report follows.
About 1,100 homes and businesses in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood have been without power since Monday morning, and Pepco says it does not yet know when the lights will come back on.
WASHINGTON — The outage began at about 9 a.m. and covers roughly the area from 17th to 21st Streets NW, between Virginia Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. Pepco says an “event” at its I Street Substation caused the outage, and that the cause is still under investigation.
Pepco gave an early estimate of power back by about 11 a.m., then withdrew it. Its outage map now lists the restoration time as “pending assessment,” which means the company has not set one.
D.C. Fire and EMS crews responded Monday morning to smoke coming from several manholes in the 1800 block of H Street NW, with Pepco crews on the scene. The smoke later cleared. No injuries have been reported. Police blocked off the 1800 block of H Street, and traffic lights were out in parts of the area, with officers directing traffic. The Foggy Bottom–GWU Metro station is operating normally.
The outage has closed public offices. The State Department said its headquarters had only brief, limited interruptions, but several of its off-site offices lost power and closed to the public, including the Washington Passport Agency. The World Bank’s building is without power.
George Washington University cancelled classes for the entire day. Its data center was affected, along with services such as GWeb and classroom technology, and access to some buildings was restricted. The university’s medical and law classes continued, according to a late-morning alert.
Pepco’s outage map lists the probable cause as a failure in the substation. That is the company’s early label, not a final finding: Pepco says the cause of the event at the substation remains under investigation.
Anyone in the area should stay clear of crew work zones and blocked streets. Zark News will update this story when Pepco announces a restoration time or power returns.
