Massive Power Outage Hits San Francisco, 130,000 Homes Left in Darkness

San Francisco, USA – The tech hub of San Francisco plunged into darkness on Saturday as a massive power outage affected approximately 130,000 homes, causing widespread disruption across the city. By Sunday, power had been restored to most households, though around 17,000 homes remained without electricity.

According to reports from the Xinhua news agency, nearly one-third of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers were impacted by the blackout. The company’s website reported the first outage at around 9:40 AM local time, affecting roughly 15,000 residential and commercial customers. A second outage followed at 10:10 AM, initially affecting 25,000 customers, though the number later rose as PG&E updated its outage map.

San Francisco Fire Department confirmed that a fire broke out inside a PG&E substation on Saturday afternoon, prompting an immediate shutdown of electricity supply. In a post on social media platform X, PG&E stated that it was working closely with first responders and city officials to address the outage impacting 130,000 customers.

The blackout caused major disruptions across the city. Several mass transit stations had to be shut down, and services for driverless vehicles were suspended. Cultural events were also affected, with the San Francisco Ballet canceling its performance of The Nutcracker. Authorities have urged residents to avoid the areas around 8th Street and Mission Street while the investigation into the fire continues.

Officials confirmed that the outage was solely due to the substation fire, and a full assessment of the incident is underway.