Foggy Bottom outage cut power to about 1,100 Pepco customers, with smoke from manholes near State and the World Bank

A power outage hit Washington's Foggy Bottom neighborhood on Monday morning, leaving about 1,100 Pepco customers without electricity near 23rd and I Streets NW, WJLA reported. Pepco said power had been restored to all impacted customers by about 2:12 p.m., according to PoPville.

What is confirmed

• Size: Pepco's initial statement put the outage at about 1,100 customers. Pepco's outage map showed 1,176 customers at one point, according to rolling out.
• Smoke: D.C. Fire and EMS responded to reports of smoke from several manholes in the 1800 block of H Street NW. No injuries were reported.
• Cause: Pepco said the event involved its I Street Substation and is under investigation. PoPville reported Pepco said there was no indication of foul play.
• State Department: an official told the Daily Wire that multiple facilities were "experiencing an unscheduled loss of electrical power" and that the department was investigating with Pepco, as relayed by reporter Mary Margaret Olohan and cited by rolling out.
• Timeline: Pepco said at 1:46 p.m. that crews were making progress and expected to restore everyone by 2 p.m., then reported restoration at about 2:12 p.m.

What is claimed but not confirmed

A resident told PoPville a manhole exploded in front of the World Bank and that its buildings had no power. Officials have not verified that. Viral posts also said the IMF and traffic signals were affected. We found no report from Pepco, D.C. officials or the news outlets above confirming the IMF or traffic signals, and the World Bank claim rests on one resident. WJLA reported more than 1,000 customers and did not name those institutions.

What we do not know

• What caused the smoke, and whether it is linked to the outage. Fire officials had not said, according to PoPville.
• Whether the substation fault came first or the manhole activity did.
• How many federal or international facilities lost power, and for how long.

What to watch

Pepco's findings on the I Street Substation, any D.C. Fire statement on the manhole smoke, and whether the State Department or World Bank report disruption to operations. Customers who are still without power can call Pepco at 202-833-7500.

Sources: WJLA (Nov 2, 2026); PoPville (Nov 2, 2026); rolling out (Nov 2, 2026). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.