Power has been restored to the homes and businesses of most utility customers affected by a massive outage in San Francisco that darkened the city Saturday.
The significant outage began affecting the city at around 1:09 p.m. Saturday and reached its peak two hours later with 130,000 homes and businesses affected, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
On Sunday, the bulk of the outages appeared to be in the heavily residential Richmond District, sandwiched between Golden Gate Park on the south and the Presidio on the north.
About 15,000 utility customers in the city remained in the dark by noon Sunday, PG&E said in an update.
The cause of the outage was not immediately clear Sunday, but at least some of it resulted from a fire at a PG&E substation, the company said. It said the fire "was extensive and the repairs and safe restoration will be complex."
"We have mobilized every available engineer and electrician into the city as part of the restoration work," the utility said in an update.
The outage affected roughly one-third of PG&E’s customers in the city, according to The Associated Press. Mass closures of restaurants and shops were reported on social media Saturday.
Robotaxi Waymo cars blocked intersections in the roads after having stopped mid-ride Saturday night.
San Francisco's Department of Emergency Management reported “significant transit disruptions” citywide. It encouraged residents to avoid travel if they could. Some of the city's Bay Area Rapid Transit and Muni bus stations were bypassed because of the outages, the AP reported.
PG&E said it has stabilized the power grid and does not expect additional outages.
PG&E advised residents to keep their refrigerator doors closed and disconnect their appliances because overloaded circuits can be a fire hazard.
