A widespread power failure plunged large parts of San Francisco into darkness on Saturday night, triggering significant disruption and leaving an estimated 130,000 customers without electricity. The outage, which at its peak affected around 30% of the city, also exposed a critical flaw in the future of urban transport, as Waymo's driverless taxis froze in the streets, compounding the traffic chaos.
City Plunged into Darkness and Gridlock
The blackout swept across several neighbourhoods in the Bay Area, including the Richmond district, Hayes Valley, Sunset, Haight Ashbury, Forest Hill, all of Golden Gate Park, and parts of downtown, South of Market, and the Presidio. Power was first reported out in some areas as early as 9.40am local time, with a key incident occurring at a PG&E substation at 8th and Mission Streets. The San Francisco Fire Department responded to a fire at that location around 3.15pm.
By nightfall, the scale of the problem was immense. PG&E confirmed that 130,000 of its customers were without power. Although service was restored to 95,000 people later that night, 35,000 residents were still waiting for electricity to return by Sunday morning. The disruption extended to public transit, causing significant delays across the city's BART stations.
Driverless Cars 'Play Dead' in the Dark
The blackout presented an unexpected and severe test for San Francisco's fleet of autonomous vehicles. Waymo's robotaxis, which began operating in the city last year, were left baffled by malfunctioning traffic lights and the loss of connectivity. Numerous vehicles came to a complete stop, some stalling in the middle of busy intersections, and became obstacles for human drivers navigating the darkened streets.
At least one person was reportedly left stranded inside a Waymo during the outage, according to local reports. Social media was quickly flooded with images and videos of the stationary vehicles, with other cars forced to manoeuvre carefully around them. "Human drivers handled it like a 4 way stop. Waymo rolled over and played dead," one user commented on X.
Faced with reports that its cars were causing dangerous traffic jams, Waymo made the decision to suspend its ride-hailing service at 8pm on Saturday. "We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco," said company spokesperson Suzanne Philion. She added that the priority was keeping riders safe and ensuring clear access for emergency personnel.
Residents Adapt with Candles and Laptop Light
As the autonomous vehicles faltered, San Franciscans at home were forced to find creative ways to manage the sudden return to a pre-electric age. Many dinners were eaten by candlelight, with residents sharing images of their makeshift arrangements on social media. One couple posted a picture of a romantic, candlelit meal on Facebook, while another person demonstrated more extreme measures.
In a vivid illustration of the lengths people went to, one resident placed an open MacBook laptop on their toilet to provide enough light to take a shower. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," the user wrote on X, acknowledging they were burning their laptop's battery for essential illumination.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey noted that the same substation believed to be at the centre of this outage was responsible for a major blackout in December 2003, which affected approximately 120,000 customers. PG&E spokesperson Edgar Hoida stated the company does not yet know the definitive cause of Saturday's failure and that an investigation is ongoing.
