Power has been restored to most of the 130,000 San Francisco homes and businesses affected by a massive outage Saturday, but more than 16,000 customers remained without electricity as of Sunday afternoon.

The outage began Saturday afternoon and was reportedly caused by a fire at the utility’s substation at 8th and Mission streets. The blackout also forced Waymo to suspend its autonomous taxi service after vehicles stalled at intersections, creating gridlock across the city.

Why It Matters

The blackout—impacting about 130,000 Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) customers—struck during one of the busiest weekends before Christmas, forcing shops and restaurants to close.

Waymo’s autonomous taxis stalled at intersections, clogging key routes and creating gridlock across San Francisco. The outage also disrupted public transit, including the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and San Francisco’s Muni network, leaving many residents stranded and unable to get home.

What To Know

PG&E crews restored approximately 114,000 customers, including 4,000 on Sunday. The remaining outages are concentrated in the Presidio, Richmond District, Golden Gate Park and small areas of downtown San Francisco. The utility has mobilized additional engineers and electricians to expedite restoration efforts.

Key affected neighborhoods initially included the Richmond and Sunset districts, Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, Forest Hill, Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, and parts of downtown and SoMa. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management reported significant citywide transit disruptions Saturday and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat downed traffic signals as four-way stops.

BART stations at Powell Street and Civic Center closed during the outage, and both Muni and Central Subway services were suspended before gradually restoring service in the evening. Waymo suspended its driverless ride-hailing services after autonomous vehicles stalled at intersections with traffic signals out, causing traffic jams and blocking emergency vehicles attempting to navigate the city.

PG&E stabilized the grid by 4 p.m. Saturday, preventing further outages from occurring. The company restored the majority of customers within six to eight hours of the initial blackout. No injuries to workers or the public have been reported, though the outage remains under investigation.

The utility company has opened a Community Resource Center in San Francisco’s Richmond District at 251 18th Ave., offering power stations for charging electronics, free Wi-Fi, bottled water, snacks, ADA-accessible restrooms and customer support. The center operates from 5-10 p.m. Sunday, then 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday.

PG&E is partnering with the 211 Providers Network to conduct wellness checks through door knocks and working with the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers to provide food vouchers and hotel placements for vulnerable customers.

What People Are Saying

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said on X: “PG&E has informed us that they expect full power to be restored by 2pm tomorrow. If your power is still out and you need help:

Come to the Richmond Rec Center at 251 18th Ave. to charge your devices or get other resources.Call 211 if you need a hotel reservation.

We will continue to keep you updated until power is restored. Thank you Supervisor Connie Chan for being on site at the rec center and working with the community during this time.”

PG&E statement on X: “#SanFrancisco Outage Update. We currently expect to restore all remaining customers impacted by the substation outage by no later than 2 p.m. on Monday. PG&E crews will continue to work until all customers have been restored.”

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X: “The City has charging locations available for residents still without power. While the Main Library, Richmond, and Anza branches remain offline due to the power outage, all other branches are open during regular hours until 5pm for device charging. Bring cables and allow extra travel time due to rain.”

Suzanne Philion, a spokesperson for Waymo, told SFGate: “We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco. We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work.”

What Happens Next?

PG&E expects to restore all remaining customers by Monday afternoon while simultaneously preparing for incoming storms that could impact other areas.

Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.