A routine operation at two San Francisco substations on Saturday morning triggered a significant power outage that affected approximately 9,400 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) customers. Concurrently, a separate system glitch led to an erroneous alert that power had been lost to about 120,000 customers.
The power disruption began around 9:45 a.m. when a protective device activated on the electrical system during what PG&E described as a “routine operational procedure.” Customers in the Richmond and Golden Gate Park neighborhoods were initially impacted. IMAGE1
PG&E's outage notification system subsequently misstated the scope of the blackout, incorrectly indicating that 120,000 San Francisco customers were without power. Edgar Hopida, a PG&E spokesman, clarified that "120,000 customers were never out of power." The utility explained that the error occurred because two electrical circuits were involved, causing the notification system to "roll up to a larger protective device," thereby generating the inflated outage figure.
System operators corrected this error within approximately 30 minutes, updating the customer count to the actual figure of about 9,400. The incorrect alert had already been sent to about 120,000 customers before the error was fixed.
The erroneous alert drew attention due to PG&E's status as a state-regulated monopoly in Northern California and San Francisco, operating without direct competition. State regulators oversee its operations and approve rate increases.
An outage map indicated the largest concentration of affected customers in the Richmond District, with between 500 and 4,999 customers losing power. Smaller outages, affecting between 50 and 499 customers, were observed near San Jose Avenue, with scattered outages of fewer than 50 customers reported elsewhere in the city.
By noon, approximately 2,500 customers remained without electricity as repair crews worked and system operators rerouted power to other circuits to restore service. PG&E adjusted its estimated restoration time from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and stated that it would investigate the cause of the outage. IMAGE6
"The safety of our customers and hometowns is PG&E’s top priority," the company said in a statement.