Around 130,000 PG&E customers lost power in San Francisco over the weekend during a series of unexpected blackoutsthat brought transportation and commerce to a screeching halt.
The outages began Saturday morning in parts of Inner Sunset, the Richmond District, Presidio, and Golden Gate Park after a fire broke out inside a PG&E electrical substation near 8th and Mission streets. The outage footprint expanded throughout the day, ultimately impacting 30% of the city.
Blackouts continued into Sunday, with roughly 17,000 customers remaining without power overnight. PG&E said full restoration was expected by Monday afternoon. City Hall will re-open Tuesday, December 23.
The outages caused major transportation disruptions. On Sunday, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) experienced a roughly 20-minute service shutdown that halted Transbay Tube service between West Oakland and San Francisco. Several Muni Metro rail lines, as well as the Central Subway, were also disrupted. With traffic signals dark across large portions of the city, San Francisco’s fleet of autonomous vehicles added to a sea of confusion. Waymo suspended service citywide after its self-driving cars began stopping at intersections, unable to proceed safely without functioning traffic lights.
Holiday shopping was also affected by the blackouts, as retailers lost electricity to their businesses.
“The Saturday before Christmas is historically one of the busiest shopping days of the year,” San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey told KGO. “This is the worst possible time for PG&E to have a problem.”
Some households reported food spoilage ahead of their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners.
The cause of the PG&E substation fire remains under investigation.