Confused Robo Taxis Cause Mayhem as San Francisco Plunges into Darkness [WATCH]

A widespread power outage left approximately 130,000 homes and businesses without electricity across San Francisco on Saturday, plunging large portions of the city into darkness and causing significant disruptions to transportation, commerce, and daily activity.

The outage affected roughly one-third of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s customers in the city and was concentrated primarily in northern San Francisco.

Neighborhoods impacted included the Richmond District, the Presidio, and areas surrounding Golden Gate Park.

Residents and businesses in those areas reported losing power beginning Saturday afternoon.

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The power cut out in the middle of a rainy day, just in time to ruin holiday plans and trap people on broken trains.

Public transit? Dead. Bay Area Rapid Transit stations shut down. Muni and the Central… pic.twitter.com/zR1FawRDX2

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 21, 2025

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Social media posts and local media reports showed darkened streets, shuttered restaurants, and closed retail businesses across multiple neighborhoods.

Christmas decorations and street lights were also reported to be out in affected areas, compounding visibility and traffic concerns as evening approached.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said in a post on X that the outage led to “significant transit disruptions” throughout the city.

Officials urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and advised drivers to treat nonfunctioning traffic signals as four-way stops.

City transportation agencies confirmed that the outage forced service changes across public transit systems.

Officials said some Muni bus routes and Bay Area Rapid Transit stations were being bypassed due to the loss of power, further complicating mobility for residents attempting to navigate the city.

Emergency officials said at least some of the outages were caused by a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation located at 8th and Mission streets.

The power outage in San Francisco has caused Waymo’s self-driving cars to come to a halt, leading to traffic disruptions across the city. https://t.co/8vPCrKF9ze pic.twitter.com/kXjOJ3UN4c

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 21, 2025

The fire was reported earlier in the day and was linked to the cascading power failures that followed.

PG&E acknowledged the outage and its scope in a statement posted on X around 4 p.m. Saturday.

The utility said it had stabilized the power grid and was not expecting additional customers to lose power as a result of the incident.

“The outage represents roughly one-third of PG&E’s customers in San Francisco,” the company said in its update.

However, PG&E said it could not provide an estimated time for full restoration of service.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie addressed residents directly in a social media post, urging caution as crews worked to assess and repair the damage.

“We are still not clear when power will be restored to over 130,000 customers,” Lurie wrote.

“So what I am going to ask all of you to do is, if you do not need to go out tonight, stay home, be safe.”

City officials emphasized that emergency services remained operational, but warned that the loss of power could create hazards related to traffic control, public transit access, and business closures.

Residents were encouraged to check on vulnerable neighbors and to limit travel unless necessary.

The outage comes as San Francisco continues to face infrastructure challenges tied to aging electrical systems and increased demand.

While PG&E said the grid had been stabilized, the company did not immediately release details on the extent of damage caused by the substation fire or the number of crews deployed for repairs.

As darkness fell across large portions of the city, residents reported limited information about restoration timelines.

Officials said updates would be provided as more details became available and urged the public to rely on official city and utility communications rather than speculation.

No injuries related to the outage or the substation fire were immediately reported.

Investigators had not yet released information on what caused the fire at the substation.

The situation remained ongoing late Saturday as city officials, utility crews, and emergency managers worked to restore power and manage disruptions affecting hundreds of thousands of San Franciscans.

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