Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced that by Sunday morning, electricity had been restored to approximately 110,000 customers in San Francisco, following a power outage on Saturday that affected nearly 130,000 customers after a fire broke out at an electrical substation.
The company said the remaining 21,000 customers without power were primarily located in the Presidio, the Richmond District, Golden Gate Park, and small areas of downtown San Francisco.
PG&E confirmed that although the damage caused by the substation fire was described as “severe and widespread,” no injuries were reported among company employees or members of the public.
Holiday Outage Disrupts San Francisco at Peak Shopping Time
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, PG&E said:“The damage from the fire at our substation was extensive, and repairs and safe restoration will be complex. We will continue working until power is restored to all customers. We urge customers to remain cautious.”
According to ABC News, the first reports of the outage came in around 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the electrical grid stabilized by 4:30 p.m., preventing further outages. Fire officials were able to bring the substation fire under control by 6:00 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, PG&E said.
The outage occurred during one of the busiest times of the year, as San Francisco was crowded with tourists and holiday shoppers. The blackout led to severe traffic congestion across affected neighborhoods, with traffic signals remaining out of service for hours.
Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, commented:“The Saturday before Christmas is historically one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This is the worst possible time for PG&E to experience a problem like this.”