A massive power outage in San Francisco that darkened 130,000 homes Saturday was further complicated as self-driving cars stopped in the middle of the street, triggering extensive traffic jams.
While Pacific Gas and Electric Co.(PG&E) did not immediately say what caused blackouts, fire officials posted on X that at least part of outage was caused by a fire that broke out inside a PG&E substation at 8th and Mission streets.
The loss of power impacted about one third of PG&E’s customers,, most of them located on the city’s north side around Golden Gate Park early in the afternoon before spreading further, Fox News reported.
By nightfall, one third of San Francisco was dark, according to news reports.
As a result, autonomous vehicles stopped in the middle of streets, unable to detect traffic signals that were no longer working. Waymo, the popular self-driving car service, temporarily suspended operations in the wake of the blackout, SFGate reported.
“We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco,” Suzanne Philion, a Waymo spokesperson told SFGATE Saturday night. “We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work.”
As of 11:30 p.m. Saturday, crews had restored power to about 95,000 customers, PG&E reported, with about 35,000 customers remaining without power.
Crews continued working through the night to restore the remaining areas.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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