Construction work cuts power to State Department: utility

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearby construction work cut power to the U.S. State Department on Monday, disrupting Internet and telephone services, but the building remained dark even after the utility said electricity had been restored. A State Department official said the building's phones and operations center were working again by mid-morning. PEPCO power company said construction work on private property in the area was to blame for the power disruption. The work caused an equipment failure and a cable was cut, said PEPCO spokesman Sean Kelly. Kelly said before 11 a.m. that power flow had been restored, but the State Department's media office and other employees said the lights remained off inside the building. "There’s a blackout at the moment - we’re sitting in the dark," a State Department official said. Kelly attributed any remaining problems to the department's equipment. "The problem is currently on the customers' end," he said. However, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement it would take PEPCO several hours to restore power. She said emergency systems were fully operating under generator power and non-emergency employees either moved to other offices or worked from home. The State Department said last month its unclassified email systems were hit by a cyber attack but there was no indication the outage was related to a breach. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Rome on Monday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bill Trott)