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 The Justice Department and State Department were among thousands
of customers whose power was cut in the early afternoon, along with
the University of Maryland and some World Bank offices.
The outage was caused by a power line breaking loose in Maryland
south of Washington, causing a drop in voltage, electrical company
officials said.
There were concerns that militant groups might be responsible, but
the Department of Homeland Security said there was no indication of
malicious activity. The outage was centered in the heart of
Washington before power was largely restored a few hours later.
White House offices and the press room went dark briefly before
backup sources kicked in. President Barack Obama was in the Oval
Office and did not notice the power failure, spokesman Josh Earnest
told a news briefing.
"Things are slowly but surely returning to normal here in the White
House complex," he said.
The State Department's daily briefing was suspended after power was
lost. At the U.S. Capitol complex, where lawmakers were absent for
an Easter recess, a backup generator switched on, keeping most
lights and appliances running.
 MUSEUMS EMPTIED
At least four Smithsonian museums were evacuated, including the
Natural History Museum on the National Mall, where the power failure
left hundreds of visitors milling around outside.
"It was just dark and a lot of people there and it was dark and it
was awkward. Because, like you couldn't see anything, you're just
standing there and the lights are off," tourist Karina Coulter told
Reuters Television.
Power also went out as media tycoon Oprah Winfrey was speaking at a
Postal Service ceremony marking the issuance of a stamp honoring
poet Maya Angelou.
Some subway stations in the United States' second-busiest mass
transit system ran on backup power. Buses were deployed to shuttle
passengers from one station to another.
Power supplier Pepco Holdings Inc said its crews were repairing
transmission equipment in Charles County, Maryland. The company's
website showed a handful of customers without power by early
evening, mostly in the District of Columbia.
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The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) said in a tweet
that a Pepco transmission conductor broke loose at a SMECO
substation, causing the outages. A spokeswoman for Pepco, Courtney
Nogas, said a broken insulator had caused a fallen transmission
line.
Thomas Popik, founder of watchdog group the Foundation for Resilient
Societies, said the outage "is an excellent example of the grid’s
fragility and why physical security is so important."
He said federal regulations on the electric grid failed to address
worries about physical security.
Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of North American Aerospace Defense
Command and U.S. Northern Command, said at a Pentagon news briefing
he had been told all backup systems had kicked in.
But Gortney said he will be checking to see "did they perform as
advertised? Do we need to strengthen in some areas?"
(Reporting by Ian Simpson, Lisa Lambert, Emily Stephenson, Jeff
Mason, Valerie Volcovici, Elvina Nawaguna, Lindsay Dunsmuir, Anna
Yukhananov, Phil Stewart, David Lawder, Richard Cowan, Reuters
Television and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Sandra Maler and Grant
McCool)
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