Thousands Without Power in San Francisco After Unplanned Outage

PG&E says urgent repairs will restore electricity by early morning hours

Apr. 10, 2026 at 8:56am by Ben Kaplan

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A vast, atmospheric landscape painting in muted tones, with the faint silhouettes of San Francisco's skyline emerging from a dense fog, conveying the overwhelming power of nature and the fragility of urban infrastructure.The eerie fog that blanketed San Francisco during a widespread power outage highlights the city's vulnerability to disruptions in its electrical grid.San Francisco Today

Around 11,000 customers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and Richmond District areas lost power on Sunday night, according to PG&E. The utility company attributed the outage to an urgent repair, estimating that power would be restored by around 1:15 a.m. This unplanned outage came on the heels of a scheduled power switch that was expected to only affect customers temporarily.

Why it matters

Power outages can cause significant disruption to residents and businesses, especially in densely populated urban areas like San Francisco. This latest incident raises concerns about the reliability of the city's power grid and the ability of utility providers to effectively manage planned and unplanned service interruptions.

The details

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised residents to treat traffic lights that had gone dark as four-way stops, as the outage was impacting traffic signals. PG&E's outage map showed the number of affected customers decreasing to less than 5,000 by 10 p.m., but the utility did not provide further details on the cause of the initial widespread outage.

  • The power outage began at 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, 2026.
  • PG&E estimated power would be restored by around 1:15 a.m. on Monday, April 11, 2026.

The players

PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility provider responsible for electricity and natural gas service in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco Department of Emergency Management

The city agency that coordinates emergency response and provides guidance to residents during power outages and other disruptions.

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What they’re saying

“We must treat traffic lights that have gone dark as four-way stops, as traffic signals may be impacted.”

— San Francisco Department of Emergency Management

What’s next

PG&E will continue to work to restore power to the remaining affected customers and investigate the cause of the unplanned outage.

The takeaway

This power outage highlights the ongoing challenges San Francisco faces in maintaining a reliable and resilient electrical grid, especially as the city grapples with the impacts of extreme weather events and aging infrastructure. Improving grid modernization and emergency preparedness will be crucial for minimizing future disruptions to residents and businesses.