{"id":403841,"date":"2026-07-18T21:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T21:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/403841\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T21:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T21:56:11","slug":"pge-power-outage-strikes-san-francisco-as-system-glitch-warns-of-chaotic-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/403841\/","title":{"rendered":"PG&E power outage strikes San Francisco as system glitch warns of chaotic blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"

A routine operation at two San Francisco substations triggered a massive power outage Saturday morning that knocked out electricity to about 9,400 PG&E customers<\/a> \u2014 while a separate system glitch mistakenly alerted roughly 120,000 customers that they had lost power.<\/p>\n

The blackout began around 9:45 a.m. when a protective device on the electrical system<\/a> activated during the procedure. <\/p>\n

The utility said customers in the Richmond and Golden Gate Park<\/a> neighborhoods were initially affected.<\/p>\n

A routine operation at two San Francisco substations triggered a massive power outage Saturday morning that knocked out electricity to about 9,400 PG&E customers Getty Images<\/p>\n

PG&E\u2019s outage notification system then dramatically overstated the scope of the blackout, incorrectly indicating that 120,000 San Francisco customers were without power.<\/p>\n

\u201c120,000 customers were never out of power,\u201d said Edgar Hopida, a spokesman for the company, in a statement to The California Post.<\/p>\n

PG&E\u2019s outage notification system then dramatically overstated the scope of the blackout, incorrectly indicating that 120,000 San Francisco customers were without power. BLOOMBERG NEWS<\/p>\n

Because two electrical circuits were involved, the notification system mistakenly \u201crolled up to a larger protective device,\u201d generating the inflated outage figure, according to PG&E.<\/p>\n

System operators corrected the error within about 30 minutes, updating the customer count to the actual total of roughly 9,400.<\/p>\n

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The real-world impact of the blackout extended beyond homes and businesses, as Alphabet-owned Waymo temporarily paused its robotaxi service in San Francisco on Saturday due to the power outage knocking out traffic signals.<\/p>\n

The mistaken alert triggered outage notifications to about 120,000 customers before the error was fixed, the utility said.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The erroneous alert drew fresh attention because PG&E operates as a government-sanctioned, state-regulated monopoly across Northern California and San Francisco.<\/p>\n

The utility has no direct competition in its service territory, while state regulators oversee its operations and approve rate increases.<\/p>\n

An outage map showed the largest concentration of affected customers in the Richmond District, where between 500 and 4,999 customers lost power.<\/p>\n

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San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Smaller outages affecting between 50 and 499 customers appeared near San Jose Avenue, while scattered outages involving fewer than 50 customers were reported elsewhere in the city.<\/p>\n

By noon, approximately 2,500 customers remained without electricity as repair crews worked at the scene and system operators shifted customers onto other circuits to restore service.<\/p>\n

The utility pushed back its estimated restoration time from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and said it will investigate what caused the outage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of our customers and hometowns is PG&E\u2019s top priority,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

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