Massive San Francisco Power Outage Leaves Thousands in the Dark as PG&E Contends with Fire at Substation

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA

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Image Source: Jeff Chiu / AP, file

A sprawling power outage left more than 20,700 utility customers without electricity across San Francisco on Saturday, disrupting daily life for residents and businesses and prompting emergency warnings from city officials. The outage began shortly after 1:09 p.m. and peaked around mid-afternoon, affecting as many as 130,000 homes and businesses at the height of the disruption, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). By late Saturday night, PG&E reported that power had been restored to roughly 95,000 customers.

The disturbance, which has been described by utilities as one of the city’s most significant outages in recent years, predominantly impacted the Richmond District on Sunday, a largely residential area nestled between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. The cause remained under investigation Sunday, with officials noting that the outage affected about one-third of PG&E’s San Francisco customers.

City officials and local media observed widespread closures of restaurants and shops as well as darkened street lights and holiday decorations. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management posted advisories on social media, urging residents to limit nonessential travel and to treat non-functioning traffic signals as four-way intersections. Transportation authorities reported that some Muni and BART services were rerouted or suspended at affected stations as a precautionary measure to ensure public safety.

A fire at a PG&E substation at the intersection of 8th and Mission streets was cited by fire officials as the cause of at least part of the outage. Fire personnel reported the incident on social media around mid-afternoon, signaling that the scene involved critical electrical infrastructure. PG&E spokespersons stated that the situation had been stabilized and that there were no indications of further outages stemming from the initial event.

Utility crews remained on scene throughout the evening, working to restore service and assess the full impact. PG&E emphasized that it would provide ongoing updates as information became available and urged customers to monitor official channels for restoration timelines and safety guidance. Officials cautioned that while the grid was stabilized, localized outages could reoccur as repair work continues and the system operators verify the integrity of the network.