San Francisco Power Outage Affects 130,000 Customers Amid Holiday Season

On Saturday, a substantial power outage impacted approximately 130,000 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) customers in San Francisco, affecting about 30% of the city's residents. The outage began in the morning and expanded throughout the day, with neighborhoods such as Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, and areas around Golden Gate Park experiencing significant disruptions.

A fire at a PG&E substation located at 8th and Mission streets was reported around 2:15 p.m. and was brought under control by 4:24 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. San Francisco Fire Department Lieutenant Mariano Elias stated,

"I'm comfortable saying it's a contributing factor to the power outages, but I don't know if that's the entire reason as to why."

The outage led to widespread disruptions, including the closure of restaurants and shops, darkened traffic lights, and significant transit delays. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops. Public transportation services were also affected; BART stations at Powell Street and Civic Center were closed, and Muni and Central Subway systems experienced service interruptions. By 7 p.m., power was restored to the affected BART stations, and Muni services resumed later in the evening.

Self-driving Waymo vehicles were observed stalled at dark intersections due to the outage. Waymo temporarily suspended its ride-hailing services in the city, emphasizing the importance of rider safety and ensuring clear access for emergency personnel.

PG&E reported that the power grid was stabilized by 4 p.m. and did not anticipate additional customer outages. By 10 p.m., the majority of customers had their power restored, with the remaining expected to regain service overnight.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie addressed the situation, urging residents to stay home if possible due to numerous traffic lights being out. He assured the public that city officials were collaborating with PG&E to restore power and would provide ongoing updates.

The outage occurred during a rainy weekend, with more inclement weather anticipated in the coming days. Weather authorities forecast an 80% chance of over 2 inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles by Christmas, stemming from the Pineapple Express storm that affected San Francisco on Saturday.