Don’t be alarmed if the lights flicker outside the Capitol Dome Friday night. The enduring beacon of freedom isn’t dead — it’s undergoing regular maintenance.  

The Architect of the Capitol is cautioning that brief power outages may occur as the agency performs planned maintenance to the electrical systems in the building. AOC spokeswoman Laura Condeluci assured CQ Roll Call the work is not related to the Dome restoration project, which has picked up pace during the August recess.  

AOC electricians are responsible for thousands of miles of wiring and more than 100,000 light fixtures across Capitol Hill, according to the agency. Because many of the historic buildings on campus, including the Capitol, were built before electricity, they require continuous modernization and upgrades.  

When tornado-like winds briefly knocked out exterior lights at the Capitol in March, pranksters had a heyday on Twitter. Perhaps now is the time for D.C. statehood activists to “seize equal representation under the cover of darkness,” as local activist Josh Burch suggested last time the Dome went dark.  

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Laura Condeluci’s name.
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