US State Department Building Gets Power Back On

The Department’s deputy spokesperson Jeff Rathke announced that power has been restored at the US State Department building after a mass power outage affected Washington, DC on Tuesday afternoon.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Power has been restored at the US State Department building after a mass power outage affected Washington, DC on Tuesday afternoon, the Department’s deputy spokesperson Jeff Rathke announced in a statement.

“As of 2:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (7:49 p.m. GMT), power has been restored throughout Main State,” Rathke said.

Earlier on Tuesday, US federal agencies including the State Departmen and the White House, as well as The Smithsonian Institution museums, local universities and public transportation agencies said that experienced loss of power.

The Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) that provides power to the region said it was working to repair the problem that caused the outage.

PEPCO also said the outage was likely caused by "an issue with a transmission line," according to a statement the company put out on Tuesday.

Previous reports mentioned that the outage might have been caused by an explosion at a Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative facility.

PEPCO said in the statement there are currently no power supply problems in the Washington, DC area.