A Short-Lived Power Failure in Washington Causes a Brief Government Shutdown

The New York Times: WASHINGTON — An equipment failure at a Maryland electric plant on Tuesday caused a widespread shutdown across the city and parts of suburban Maryland, leaving the White House and other government buildings temporarily without power.

Tom Dennison, a spokesman for the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, or Smeco, said a conductor on a line operated by Pepco, the main utility serving the city, had fallen to the ground outside one of its substations in Charles County, Md., south of Washington. The malfunction caused a loss of power as well as a minor brush fire, both of which were resolved quickly, he said. None of the utility’s equipment was damaged.

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