Power continues to be restored to tens of thousands of San Francisco businesses and residences following a Saturday outage that affected about 130,000 customers. According to Pacific Gas & Electricity company (PG&MY).
The outage was due to a fire in an electrical substation, according to PG&MY.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 20: A view of traffic from above as more than 130,000 PG&E customers lost power in San Francisco, California, United States, on December 20, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
By Sunday morning, power had been restored to about 110,000 customers, according to PG.&said E. The remaining 21,000 customers were primarily located in the Presidio, Richmond district, Golden Gate Park and small areas from the center San Francisco, according to the utility company.
Although the damage to the substation was “significant and extensive”, there were no injuries in PG&E workers or the public, PG&E said.
“The damage caused by the fire at our substation was extensive and repairs and safe restoration will be complex. We will continue to work until all customers are restored,” PG&E said early in the afternoon. update Sunday. “We encourage customers to be safe.”
The first outages occurred around 1 p.m. on Saturday, according to PG.&E, with the network stabilized at 4:30 p.m., stopping any further outages. Firefighters brought the substation fire under control at 6 p.m. according San Francisco ABC Station KGO.
San Francisco firefighters open a door to rescue employees trapped inside a store due to a power outage in San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. The store had to close early due to a power outage. (Photo by Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
San Francisco Chronicle/hearst N/San Francisco Chronicle via Gett
The blackout occurred when the city was bustling with tourists and vacation shoppers. The lack of electricity paralyzed traffic in the affected areas, as traffic lights remained inoperative.
“The Saturday before Christmas is historically one of the busiest shopping days of the year,” Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, told KGO. “This is the worst moment that PG&I might have a problem.”
Cause of substation fire remains under investigation, according to PG&MY.
