Lights Back on at U.S. Capitol

Lights Back on at U.S. Capitol
Apr 03 1:25 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON


The U.S. Capitol was evacuated shortly after noon Monday after the building briefly lost power.

The building was reopened about an hour later after power was restored. The House and Senate were not in session at the time of the outage. Both were to convene at 2 p.m. EDT.

Mary-Beth Hutchinson, a spokeswoman for Potomac Electric Power Co., said the electricity shut off automatically after there was "a momentary drop in voltage due to customer operations up the lines" away from the Capitol.

"The protective equipment sensed the significant change in voltage and tripped," she said.

Nearby office buildings were not affected by the outage. Before the evacuation sirens went off, more than 100 visitors sat in the darkened House gallery. They exited with everyone else when the alarm sounded, calmly walking toward exits.

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Several things about this article require comment.

1. Doesn't the Capitol Building have a back up power system that would automatically kick in during a power outage? If not, why not?
2. Is this all the terrorists have to do to bring government to a grinding halt, shut off the power?
3. Troops in the field do not abandon their posts when the power goes off, why are government employees in the Capitol leaving their posts?
4. Have we become so timid and frightened that we jump at shadows in places of government?
5. I really fear for the nation if a simple power outage can shut down the Capitol and thus part of the process of government.
6. Note to self: The next time the power goes off here in my home I'll be ready to evacuate the premises at once!