For the sixth time in less than a month, residents of San Francisco\u2019s Richmond neighborhood were hit with a power outage Friday, infuriating thousands who have endured weeks of repeated blackouts. <\/p>\n
An outage map from Pacific Gas & Electric Company shows about 3,400 customers\u00a0without power Friday afternoon in the Outer Richmond and Sea Cliff neighborhoods. It was just the latest affront since a fire at a PG&E substation in SoMa blackened a third of the city Dec. 20.<\/p>\n
Lauren Mufarreh, who lives in the Outer Richmond, said PG&E informed her that power would be restored by 8 p.m. Friday before moving the time back to 5:15 p.m. By now, she knows to take the utility company\u2019s estimates with a grain of salt. She and her neighbors, many whom were without electricity for days throughout the holiday season, have experienced a series of incorrect restoration timelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we go again,\u201d said Mufarreh, who counted six outages since Dec. 20. \u201cThese false predictions make it really tough. \u2026 I work from home, so it\u2019s kind of a problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the Dec. 20 blackout, PG&E relied on temporary diesel generators to bring power to the Richmond, drawing criticism for creating a \u201cdeafening noise.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n The energy giant\u2019s handling of the blackouts has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, with some renewing calls for the city to take over the company\u2019s assets. State Sen. Scott Wiener said he would soon introduce legislation for San Francisco and other cities to break up with PG&E<\/a> and form publicly owned utilities.<\/p>\n