Power restored to much of San Francisco, City Hall still closed

KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco

364 views • 3 hours ago

Video Summary

A massive power outage in San Francisco, triggered by a fire at a Mission Street substation, left thousands without electricity since Saturday. At its peak, about one-third of the city lost power, disrupting BART, Muni, and causing traffic chaos due to inoperable streetlights. Restaurants suffered food spoilage, and residents faced significant inconvenience, with some struggling to keep devices charged. While power has been restored to many, approximately 10,000 PG&E customers remained without it, primarily in areas around Golden Gate Park, the outer Richmond, and Civic Center. The outage also significantly impacted self-driving car services, which stalled at intersections due to the lack of traffic signals, prompting the company to update its software.

One particularly striking detail is that at one point, a staggering 130,000 San Franciscans were in the dark.

Short Highlights

A fire at a Mission Street substation caused a massive power outage in San Francisco, affecting up to 130,000 residents.
The outage disrupted public transportation like BART and Muni, and caused traffic issues due to non-functioning streetlights.
Restaurants faced losses from spoiled food, and residents experienced significant inconvenience, including difficulty charging devices.
As of the report, approximately 10,000 PG&E customers were still without power, concentrated in specific neighborhoods.
Self-driving car services were also impacted, with vehicles stalled at intersections, leading the company to plan software updates.

Key Details

Power Outage Impacts in San Francisco [00:00]

Thousands of San Francisco residents experienced a significant power outage that began on Saturday.
At its peak, approximately 130,000 San Franciscans, or one-third of the city, were without electricity.
The outage was attributed to a fire at a Mission Street substation.

"Thousands are still without electricity in San Francisco."

Disruption to Public Services and Transportation [00:20]

BART trains were unable to operate through some San Francisco stations due to the power loss.
Muni suspended its services.
Cars were stuck in traffic because streetlights were out.

Resident Experiences and Food Spoilage [00:34]

Restaurants were forced to discard food that spoiled due to the lack of refrigeration.
Residents faced the inconvenience of being without power for an extended period.
One resident expressed frustration over inconsistent communication regarding restoration times, stating, "If PG&E could have told us right up front that, you know, stuff was going to be out till 2 2:00, I would have moved everything yesterday."

Ongoing Outages and Affected Areas [01:17]

The power outages continued to affect the area around Civic Center, leading to the closure of some city buildings, including City Hall, the main library, and the Civic Center garage.
Muni service disruptions were still in effect on Market Street.
Around 10,000 PG&E customers remained without power, primarily concentrated around Golden Gate Park, the outer Richmond neighborhood, and Civic Center.

Impact on Self-Driving Car Services [01:52]

Wi-Fi resumed service after the power outage had prompted its suspension for most of the weekend.
Video footage from Saturday night showed stalled robo-taxis blocking intersections and nearly causing collisions.
Wi-Fi attributed these issues partly to outages at traffic signals, causing human drivers to remain at intersections longer than usual.
The company is actively working to learn from the incident and update its software.