Power Outage in San Francisco Leaves 20,700 Without Electricity
Over 20,700 utility customers in San Francisco are currently without electricity following a significant power outage. This incident began around 1:09 p.m. on Saturday, affecting approximately 130,000 homes and businesses at its peak, as reported by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
Details of the Outage
The power restoration efforts by PG&E were noteworthy. By 11 p.m. Saturday, the utility had successfully restored power to about 95,000 customers. However, many inhabitants in the residential Richmond District remained without electricity the following day.
Impact on the Community
- Approximately 20,700 customers still without power.
- Peak outage affected about 130,000 homes and businesses.
- 95,000 customers had their power restored by Saturday night.
- Significant disruptions in transit and local businesses reported closures.
The Richmond District, located between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, saw most of the outages. Social media activity indicated a variety of related issues, including closed restaurants, darkened street lights, and unlit holiday decorations.
Current Situation and Response
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management issued a warning on X, stating that there were “significant transit disruptions” throughout the city. Residents were advised to avoid unnecessary travel and treat unresponsive traffic signals as four-way stops.
Transportation agencies, including Muni and BART, bypassed some stations due to the ongoing power issues. Fire officials identified that part of the blackout was linked to a fire at a PG&E substation located at 8th and Mission streets.
Future Expectations
As of now, PG&E has stabilized the power grid and anticipates no further outages. They have crews on the scene and promise to provide more updates as the situation develops. The cause of the outage remains unclear, but the utility company is working diligently to restore normalcy to affected residents.
