The 130,000 PG&E account holders — a figure that represents roughly a third of San Francisco’s population — affected by the recent SF blackout saw their power fully restored on Tuesday.
After about 72 hours since PG&E first reported blackouts last Friday, all accounts affected by what’s colloquially become the Great San Francisco Blackout of 2025 have been restored — 130,000 households now, indeed, have power. Roughly a third of San Francisco’s residential population found themselves in the dark as a result of a vulnerable substation catching fire, though the utility has mentioned the “root cause” of the event is still under investigation.
Critics have panned PG&E, the city’s foremost and only electrical utility, for its management of the blackout, citing its antiquated equipment and lack of emergency management created an unnecessarily harsh blackout … one that left some of the city’s most vulnerable populations in complete and utter darkness for 48 hours.
As of Wednesday afternoon, PG&E’s power outage map is completely clear of power outages in San Francisco; earlier this morning, around 250 accounts located near Crissy Field were still without power, but those were later brought back online; as of publishing, pockets of “green.”
The company said residential customers would get a $200 credit on their bills, and business customers would get $2,500 automatically — “no action is required by the customer.”
PG&E customers can also file claims with the company; Mayor Daniel Lurie has posted on social media, suggesting customers do so over the weekend after the holiday to ensure the utility properly credits their accounts; those with renters’ insurance can also file claims for blackout-related losses — e.g., spoiled foods, aquarium plant and animal deaths, etc — to be adequately compensated.
Feature Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia
