Residents of West End and parts of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., have been dealing with a power outage since early on Friday after a manhole fire, caused by an underground equipment failure, broke out at M and New Hampshire Avenue, NW. The outage has impacted hundreds of customers, including hotels and businesses, leaving many without essential services. Madeleine Friedman, a local resident, told, NBC Washington, "We needed to go to CVS, but they’ve been closed since yesterday morning, so we haven’t been able to get our prescriptions or anything." Utility crews are working to restore power, but no timeline has been given.
Utility company Pepco has been on the scene addressing the situation and exploring options to restore electricity to the area. As per a statement obtained by WUSA9, "We are exploring options to bring additional generation online to help restore power to some customers sooner." The power outages have reportedly affected more than 700 customers on Sunday morning. Pepco expects to restore service to all customers by 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Community efforts have been made to mitigate the impact of the outage, with the West End Library remaining open to provide restrooms, charging docks, and a warm area. These facilities were available until 9 p.m., with the library scheduled to reopen on Sunday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. for residents in need. This information was confirmed by Pepco, who stated, as reported by WUSA9, "We understand how challenging this is, especially during the winter."
The blackout occurred after approximately six feeders from two adjacent manholes were completely burned and destroyed due to the fire. Pepco's confirmation of the fire's impact was relayed to ANC commissioner Matt Johnson, "There was a fire in a manhole at M and New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., at 4:30 a.m. this morning", a Pepco representative told Johnson in an interview by Washington Blade. "It also involved a manhole nearby, so 6 feeders from the two manholes were/are completely burned and destroyed." The cause of the fire is under investigation, and plans for reinforcing the electrical infrastructure to prevent similar incidents have not yet been determined.
