San Francisco blackout: 110,000 customers restored, 21,000 still without power after PG&E substation fire
An outage that began Saturday left roughly 130,000 San Francisco homes and businesses—about 30% of PG&E’s city customers—without power after a fire at a PG&E substation (reported near 8th and Mission), causing widespread transit disruptions, closed or bypassed BART and Muni stations, stalled Waymo robotaxis and prompting officials to urge residents to avoid nonessential travel. By Sunday morning PG&E said crews had restored power to about 110,000 customers with roughly 21,000 still without service concentrated in the Presidio, Richmond and Golden Gate Park areas; the utility described the substation damage as "significant and extensive," mobilized additional engineers and electricians, and said full repairs will be complex with no firm timeline for complete restoration.
📌 Key Facts
- PG&E says roughly 130,000 homes and businesses — about one‑third of its San Francisco customers — lost power when the outage began, which started around 9:40 a.m. and initially affected neighborhoods including the Presidio, Seacliff, Outer and Inner Richmond, Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, Inner and Outer Sunset, parts of West of Twin Peaks, Western Addition and Downtown.
- The outage was linked to a fire at PG&E’s 8th and Mission substation reported around 3:15 p.m.; firefighters used carbon dioxide to extinguish the one‑alarm blaze and PG&E describes the substation damage as significant and repairs as complex.
- PG&E said crews stabilized the grid around 4 p.m. and did not expect additional outages, mobilized additional engineers and electricians, but warned restoration would be complex and initially gave no firm ETA for full restoration.
- Restoration updates: crews worked through the night and, as of Sunday morning, PG&E reported power had been restored to about 110,000 customers with roughly 21,000 still without power.
- Remaining outages are concentrated in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park and small areas within Downtown San Francisco.
- The blackout caused significant transit and traffic disruptions citywide: some Muni buses and BART stations (including Powell Street and Civic Center) were bypassed or briefly closed, Muni trains couldn’t enter the Muni Metro and Central Subway, and officials urged motorists to treat dark signals as four‑way stops.
- City response and safety measures: Mayor Daniel Lurie urged residents to stay off roads if possible, additional officers were deployed to key intersections and corridors, and the Department of Emergency Management urged avoidance of nonessential travel.
- Waymo temporarily suspended its robotaxi service in San Francisco during the outage to protect riders and clear access for emergency personnel; some autonomous vehicles stalled in the middle of streets during the blackout, worsening traffic jams.
📊 Relevant Data
PG&E was penalized $6.5 million by state regulators for a fire at the Mission substation on December 20, 2003, due to regulatory violations.
PG&E Mission substation has history of fire, trouble with regulators — NBC Bay Area
An independent safety investigation in 2022 found that PG&E's aging and unmaintained infrastructure is a driving factor in the threat of California wildfires and equipment failures.
Safety investigation faults PG&E's failure to maintain aging infrastructure — Environmental Working Group (EWG)
Incorporating the impact of power outages increases the resilient energy affordability gap by almost $1 billion annually in California, disproportionately affecting low-income households.
Incorporating Equity in Energy Resilience — Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE)
Low-income families in areas affected by California power shutoffs, including tens of thousands in poverty-stricken regions, experience significant food loss and increased hunger due to spoiled groceries during outages.
“We need the food that we lost.” Low-income families still reeling from California power shutoffs — CalMatters
PG&E announced a $73 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026-2030 to upgrade infrastructure, addressing challenges like aging equipment and extreme weather.
PG&E Will Upgrade Infrastructure as Part of 5-Year, $73-Billion Investment Plan — POWER Magazine
📰 Sources (5)
- PG&E reports that power has been restored to about 110,000 customers, with approximately 21,000 customers still without power as of Sunday morning.
- Remaining outages are concentrated in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park and small areas within Downtown San Francisco.
- PG&E describes the fire damage at the affected substation as 'significant and extensive' and says repairs and safe restoration will be 'complex' with additional engineers and electricians mobilized.
- PG&E says it does not yet have an estimated time for full restoration of power.
- Waymo confirms it temporarily suspended robotaxi ride-hailing services in San Francisco during the outage to keep riders safe and ensure clear access for emergency personnel.
- Confirms that autonomous vehicles (Waymo self-driving cars) stalled in the middle of streets during the outage, causing traffic jams.
- Reports that Waymo temporarily suspended its autonomous ride-hailing service in San Francisco in response to the blackout, according to SFGate.
- Adds a later PG&E restoration update: as of 11:30 p.m. Saturday, power had been restored to about 95,000 customers, with about 35,000 still without power, and crews working through the night.
- Outage began around 9:40 a.m., affecting about 30% of San Francisco, including specific neighborhoods such as the Presidio, Seacliff, Outer and Inner Richmond, Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, Inner and Outer Sunset, parts of West of Twin Peaks, Western Addition, and Downtown.
- BART’s Powell Street and Civic Center stations were closed due to the outage and later reopened; Muni trains were unable to enter the Muni Metro and Central Subway during the blackout.
- Waymo temporarily suspended its autonomous vehicle service in San Francisco because of the outage.
- San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie urged residents to stay off the roads if possible and said additional officers would be deployed to key intersections and corridors for safety.
- San Francisco Fire Department reported working a one‑alarm fire at PG&E’s 8th and Mission substation around 3:15 p.m., using carbon dioxide to extinguish the fire while power was being shut down.
- PG&E said it expected restorations by later Saturday night and that its crews had stabilized the grid and did not expect further outages, while PowerOutage.us still showed more than 125,000 customers without power at 8:45 p.m.
- PG&E states that approximately 130,000 homes and businesses — about one-third of its San Francisco customers — lost power in the outage.
- The outage began in the early afternoon in the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and areas around Golden Gate Park and then grew in size.
- The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management reported 'significant transit disruptions' citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat dark signals as four-way stops.
- City transportation agencies said some Muni bus and BART stations were being bypassed because of the power outages.
- PG&E posted around 4 p.m. that it had stabilized the grid and did not expect additional outages, but could not confirm restoration by later Saturday.