On Saturday, December 20, 2025, San Francisco faced a massive power outage that left approximately 130,000 homes and businesses in the dark, just days before Christmas. According to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), the blackout was triggered by a fire at an electrical substation located at 8th and Mission streets, causing significant and extensive damage and throwing roughly a third of the city’s utility customers into the cold and dark for hours.
At about 1 p.m., the San Francisco Fire Department began receiving 911 calls about the blaze. Firefighters managed to get the situation under control by 6 p.m., ultimately turning the scene over to PG&E for assessment and repairs. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported among PG&E workers or the public, as confirmed by both the utility and city officials. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and as of Sunday, officials had not yet determined whether the fire was the sole reason for the widespread outages, with some neighborhoods reporting power loss even earlier in the day, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
PG&E described the substation damage as “significant and extensive,” warning that repairs and safe restoration would be complex. The company mobilized additional engineers and electricians to tackle the daunting task, emphasizing, “This is a very complex work plan and will require the highest amount of safety focus to ensure safe work actions.” In an update posted Sunday, PG&E stated, “We will continue working until all customers are restored. We encourage customers to be safe.”
The outage’s timing could hardly have been worse. The Saturday before Christmas is historically one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and the blackout not only blanketed homes but also shuttered businesses and restaurants, darkened festive street decorations, and brought the city’s bustling holiday shopping scene to a grinding halt. San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey told KGO, “This is the worst time that PG&E could have a problem.”
Traffic snarled across the city as signals blinked out, forcing drivers and pedestrians to navigate intersections with extra caution. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat downed traffic signals as four-way stops. Public transit was also hit hard. BART stations at Powell Street and Civic Center were closed, and trains experienced delays. Muni and Central Subway systems halted service but gradually restored power later in the evening. The chaos even extended to the city’s cutting-edge transportation: Waymo, the operator of driverless ride-hailing vehicles, suspended its services after videos circulated on social media showing self-driving cars stalled in intersections. Waymo spokesperson Suzanne Philion explained, “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.”
By 4:30 p.m. Saturday, PG&E announced that the grid had stabilized and no further outages were expected. Large portions of the city, especially the hard-hit neighborhoods of Sunset, Richmond, Presidio, Haight, Pacific Heights, and Golden Gate Park, gradually regained power. Most customers saw their electricity restored by 10 or 11 p.m. that night, but thousands—about 17,000 as of Sunday evening—remained without service. PG&E opened a community resource center at 251 18th Avenue, offering impacted residents a place to charge devices, warm up, and grab snacks and water. The center operated extended hours through Monday as the utility raced to complete repairs.
City officials and residents voiced frustration over the outage and the company’s communication. Sunset Supervisor Alan Wong called for a public hearing, noting that some neighborhoods had already experienced outages earlier in December. In a statement, Wong said he had sent PG&E a formal letter on December 11 “requesting detailed information regarding the cause of the outages, how the disruptions escalated, and gaps in communication with the public,” but had yet to receive a substantive reply. Supervisor Connie Chan echoed these concerns, saying, “It’s a glaring example that illustrates a privatized company like PG&E keeps increasing our energy bill, and yet still be able to get away from the obligation of delivering reliable and safe power to a city like San Francisco.” PG&E apologized for the disruption but did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the supervisors’ statements.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie urged residents to stay home if possible, warning, “What I’m asking everybody to do is to be safe out in the roads. A lot of lights are out. We are going to continue to keep you posted.” The Department of Emergency Management also cautioned residents against using gas stoves, grills, or generators indoors due to the increased risk of carbon monoxide exposure during outages, and reminded everyone to keep refrigerators and freezers closed to preserve food.
The blackout’s ripple effects extended beyond city limits. Some outages were reported in the East Bay, though these were not as widespread and were expected to be resolved by Sunday night. Meanwhile, the city braced for more bad weather, with the National Weather Service predicting an 80% chance of more than two inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles by Christmas Day, thanks to the Pineapple Express storm system that had already drenched San Francisco.
By Sunday evening, PG&E had restored power to the majority of affected customers, but about 14,000 to 17,000 remained in the dark. The company set a deadline to have everyone back online by 2 p.m. Monday, December 22, 2025. “PG&E crews will continue to work until all customers have been restored,” the company reiterated. As the city waited for the lights to come back on, the incident reignited debates about infrastructure reliability, corporate accountability, and the challenges of keeping a major urban center running smoothly during the holiday season and in the face of unpredictable disasters.
San Francisco’s weekend blackout served as a stark reminder of the city’s vulnerability to infrastructure failures and the cascading impact such events can have on daily life, commerce, and public safety. As the investigation into the substation fire continues, many residents and city leaders are left wondering what steps can be taken to prevent a similar crisis in the future.
