Snow piled atop transformer causes hourslong power outage at Tysons Corner mall

Virginia’s Tysons Corner Center was hit by a temporary power outage Sunday, leaving residents and consumers wondering what was going on.

Aisha Khan, a spokesperson for the utility provider, confirmed that power was restored to the mall around 5:30 p.m.

Khan said the electricity loss was caused by an undisclosed amount of snow that had been removed from the parking lot and piled on top of one of the mall’s transformers, prompting it to malfunction.

The Fairfax County Police Department previously told WTOP that its officers were “assisting with traffic control for the traffic lights within the mall.” Dominion crews were also on-site.

It’s unclear which stores remained open or were directly affected by the outage.

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Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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