On Saturday, a significant power outage disrupted the lives of over 130,000 customers in San Francisco, affecting nearly one-third of the city, as reported by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).
The outage primarily impacted several neighborhoods, including The Presidio, Seacliff, Outer and Inner Richmond, Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, Inner and Outer Sunset, and parts of West of Twin Peaks. Additional areas such as the Western Addition and Downtown also experienced power loss.
PG&E’s website indicated that, around 3 p.m., approximately 30% of San Francisco was without electricity. By late Saturday afternoon, the number of affected customers had risen to over 130,000.
By 11 p.m. local time, PG&E announced that power had been restored to around 100,000 customers, with the remaining 30,000 expected to have their service restored overnight. The initial outage began at approximately 9:40 a.m.
Shortly after the outages began, at around 3:15 p.m., the San Francisco Fire Department reported that it was responding to a one-alarm fire at a PG&E substation located at 8th and Mission streets. Firefighters worked to cut off power to the area while extinguishing the blaze using carbon dioxide.
As of now, PG&E has not disclosed the cause of the outages.
Public transportation was also affected, with BART announcing the closure of Powell Street and Civic Center stations due to the power failure. Muni services reported disruptions as trains could not access the Muni Metro and Central Subway lines.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie updated the public around 9 p.m., stating that the two BART stations were reopening and Muni services were gradually resuming. However, he warned that the effects of the outages might still influence operations.
“If you don’t need to travel tonight, please stay off the roads and remain indoors,” Lurie advised, adding that additional officers would be deployed at intersections and busy corridors to maintain safety.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management noted that the outage could be affecting traffic signals, advising drivers to treat intersections as four-way stops.
In response to the outage, Waymo temporarily halted its services in the city. Fortunately, PG&E reported that there have been no injuries related to the power disruptions.
