Montgomery County Website, Phones Down for a Day

UPDATED
A power outage leaves Montgomery County officials without much power for most of the day on Feb. 28.

It was through social media that the public learned that the county’s phones, 311 system and website were down.

County officials posted a message around noontime on the county’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The status note stressed that the 911 Emergency Call Center was working. A second message was posted later in the day informing the public that County offices were open even though phones and email were still not working.

There was no explanation for the problem. Calls to county offices just rang and then timed out.

Pepco officials said a power outage was reported in downtown Rockville at approximately 11 a.m. and that nearly 1,500 customers were without electricity at the height of the outage.

Marcus Beal, Pepco spokesperson, said the problem originated at a Rockville substation and resulted in some feeder problems. He said crews hoped to have the power restored around 2:30 p.m.

A quick drive around downtown Rockville indicated some businesses and traffic lights were impacted while others were not.

Legislative Information Officer Neil Greenberger said a Council committee was in session when the power outage occurred. He said the meeting and television broadcast were not impacted by the outage. According to Greenberger, only portions of the Council building were impacted. He said most employees stuck around waiting for the power to return as Thursday is a busy day at the Council building because staffers are preparing packets for the following week’s meetings.

It was Thursday evening before the county’s website was back up.

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