D.C. Area Emergency Communications, Telecom Unaffected by Power Outage

Washington, D.C., 911 and 311 communications were unaffected by a widespread electrical outage Tuesday in D.C. and parts of Maryland, said a spokeswoman for the District's Office of Unified Communications. The OUC handles 911 and 311 phone communications and public safety radio communications. The outage temporarily knocked out power across a major portion of the District, including at the White House and Smithsonian museums, along with areas of central and southern Maryland. The D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency said the outage was caused by a power surge that originated in an electrical facility Charles County, Maryland, while the Pepco electric utility reported the outage was caused by “an issue with a transmission line.” Maryland public safety answering points didn’t experience any service interruptions as a result of the outage, said a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services. Telcos and cable companies that service the D.C. area, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, said they weren’t experiencing service interruptions because of the outage.