Power Goes Out in DC’s Diplomatic District the Day Before Midterms: State Department, World Bank and IMF Left Without Power as Smoke Billowed from Manholes

A major power outage struck Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood Monday morning, the day before the midterm elections, knocking out power for more than 1,100 Pepco customers and disrupting key government and international facilities, including parts of the U.S. State Department, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

Traffic signals went dark across parts of the area, George Washington University canceled classes, and emergency crews responded to reports of smoke rising from multiple underground manholes near H Street NW and the World Bank.

🚨 BREAKING: A substation failure has knocked out power across Foggy Bottom in Washington, DC

Pepco says about 1,100 customers are in the dark near GW University, the World Bank, the IMF and the State Department

Smoke poured from multiple manholes on H Street NW

State… pic.twitter.com/Z5xDxAsbOS

— Patriot (@_Patriot1776Q_) November 2, 2026

Pepco confirmed the outage stemmed from an event at the company's I Street Substation in Foggy Bottom.

DC Fire and EMS responded to reports of smoke coming from multiple manholes in the area. 

Large police presence outside of the World Bank building with power still out. https://t.co/Uf0jdpFGOp pic.twitter.com/6WItFSDh0V

— Wid Lyman (@Wid_Lyman) November 2, 2026

The utility company said about 1,100 to 1,176 customers lost power, crews were on scene assessing conditions, and the cause remained under investigation.

The timing, on the eve of Election Day, prompted concern across social media.

Pepco has explicitly noted that "at this time, there is no indication of foul play."

We’re responding to a power outage in the Foggy Bottom area following an incident at our I Street Substation. The cause remains under investigation, with no indication of foul play at this time. Our focus remains on safely restoring power to our customers. pic.twitter.com/FpFHlADfq3

— Pepco (@PepcoConnect) November 2, 2026

The company later reported that it had restored power to all impacted customers by around 2 p.m.

Smoke from Multiple Manholes - 1800 Block of H Street NW@dcfireems responded for the report of smoke coming from multiple manholes. @PepcoConnect on scene to assist with power surge and electrical outages in the area.

— DC Fire and EMS Department (@dcfireems) November 2, 2026

D.C. Fire and EMS had responded earlier to smoke coming from manholes in the 1800 block of H Street NW, with Pepco assisting with the power surge and outages.