SAN FRANCISCO, United States – A substantial electrical failure severely impacted San Francisco on Saturday, resulting in a widespread blackout that deprived approximately 130,000 residents of power for an extended duration. The city’s primary utility provider, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), confirmed that a substation fire was the root cause of the disruption, which occurred during a critical pre-Christmas shopping weekend.
At the peak of the incident, significant portions of the West Coast’s renowned technology hub were engulfed in darkness. The outage precipitated considerable public inconvenience, including the failure of numerous traffic signals and a suspension of services for the self-driving ride-hailing operator, Waymo. Public transportation networks also experienced considerable delays and disruptions.
In an official communication via social media platform X, PG&E provided a restoration update, indicating that power had been successfully returned to roughly 90,000 customers by 9:00 PM local time. The utility company assured that efforts would continue through the night to restore electricity to the remaining 40,000 affected households.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie addressed the public from the city’s emergency operations center, acknowledging the severity of the situation. He urged residents still without electricity to prioritize safety and to check on their neighbors. Mayor Lurie also confirmed that additional police, fire department personnel, and city officials had been deployed across affected areas and advised the public to remain at home unless absolutely necessary.
The timing of the blackout proved particularly detrimental to local commerce. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that numerous businesses were compelled to shutter on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. Dense fog further compounded the challenging conditions, rendering typically vibrant commercial districts unusually quiet and causing what one retail manager described as a ‘devastating’ financial impact so close to the Christmas holiday.