According to reports the generating plant at Chalk Point is connected to a substation on Ryceville Road in Charles County. The insulator from this line failed and released the power line that connects to the substation which caught on fire when it hit the ground. Reports say the explosion was over 100 feet tall.
SMECO lineman, Kevin Thomas, said PEPCO and SMECO are jointly investigating the explosion, there is no estimate as to how long it will take to repair the substation. The utility companies are in the process of switching the power as a work-around. When asked why this substation was causing such a large outage Thomas said that this transmission line goes over the entire United States.
Power is beginning to be restored throughout the area.
Update:
Power outages may be linked to a switching station located in Charles County on Ryceville Road. Reports are also being made that 13 metro stations are without power.

There have been reported power outages across the entire Southern Maryland area.
Traffic lights out throughout Southern Maryland – treat intersections as a 4 WAY STOP & PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Be on lookout for police on foot at intersections controlling traffic.
See the most updated SMECO map here: http://stormcenter.smeco.coop/m.html
Originally published at The Scotto Grotto. You can comment here or there.