Power Restored To All Customers After Massive San Francisco Power Outage

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A major power outage left more than 20,000 customers without power in a number of neighborhoods in San Francisco Friday morning and stopped Muni Metro service for about 90 minutes.

PG&E said the outage began at 7:57 a.m. and affected areas of the Castro, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks, Bernal Heights, China Basin, Mission Bay and Dogpatch neighborhoods.

SF: @PGE4Me crews investigating an outage affecting 26k customers. We will work to restore power safely and quickly as possible. Please be careful at traffic lights. #Castro #Dogpatch #MissionBay #TwinPeaks

— Andrea Menniti (@PGE_Andrea) September 20, 2019

PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said it appeared a third party construction company called Anvil Builders struck a 12,000-volt underground power line while working near Illinois and 22nd St. which is at the site of a PG&E transmission switch yard. Previously, PG&E had said the location was near Pier 17. Contreras also revised the estimate of customers affected to 22,000 from a previous estimate of 26,000.

PG&E said Anvil Builders did call 811 before they began work.

“We have an 811 number that any customer or third party should be calling before they do digs to prevent accidents like this from happening,” said PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland.

Sam Singer, a spokesperson for Anvil Builders, said crews did not see a designated marked spot from PG&E where they were digging. However, the construction company is working closely with PG&E and the city to figure out how the power line was accidentally cut.

As of 10:30 a.m., PG&E said 1,800 were still without power.

UPDATE: Power outage has impacted #MuniMetro rail service in the subway in both directions. We are organizing bus shuttles as quickly as possible to support svc b/t West Portal & Downtown. https://t.co/jqczl4CTlo

— SFMTA (@sfmta_muni) September 20, 2019

Shortly before 11 a.m., KPIX 5 reporter Jackie Ward learned the number of customers affected by the outage had been reduced to just 330.

Down to 330 as of 10:55am! @KPIXtv

— Jackie Ward (@JackieKPIX) September 20, 2019

Shortly before 12 p.m., PG&E said power had been restored to all customers.

Good news! Power in SF has been restored to all @PGE4Me customers. I’ll have a live update at noon on @KPIXtv! pic.twitter.com/KxrcUdgd4L

— Jackie Ward (@JackieKPIX) September 20, 2019

The outage also affected San Francisco Muni service. Underground light rail service was stopped in both directions because of the outage according to 511.org. In addition, passengers on surface streets have reported delays because of inoperable traffic signals.

The shutdown of Muni Metro happened right in the thick of the morning commute. People were spilling into the street at the West Portal and the Castro stations. One Muni rider got caught up in the mess on Market Street.

“Nothing is moving. Traffic is stacked on top of each other, and it’s just frustrating. It’s frustrating,” said the rider. “So now I have to recalibrate my timing and try to shift a few things around.”

By 9:30 a.m., Muni Metro service had been restored.

UPDATE: #Subwaysvc is resuming in both directions as all systems have been restored. Expect slow moving svc while we work to balance svc. Bus shuttles will remain in place temporarily to support. https://t.co/VW3CRWncFE

— SFMTA (@sfmta_muni) September 20, 2019

BART said its service was not affected by the outage.

This is at 22nd and Illinois where a third-party construction company, not affiliated with PG&E, struck an underground power line. Electric customers in the Potrero, South of Market and China Basin neighborhoods were the ones primarily affected. @KPIXtv https://t.co/dTxhkVHbfA pic.twitter.com/jLpnbTn5BY

— Jackie Ward (@JackieKPIX) September 20, 2019

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