Heidi King’s exciting move into a new apartment at the NEMA building at 8 10th St. turned into a nightmare when the mass blackout that started Saturday afternoon left her and her neighbors without electricity, water, or working elevators.
King and her partner were settling into their 18th-floor unit when the power cut off. With the elevators out of commission, the movers ended up dumping the couple’s possessions in the parking area on their way out.
“We were left with nothing,” King said. The couple spent the first night in their new home sleeping on the floor, with no water, forcing them to leave the building to use the bathroom.
King was one of tens of thousands affected by the blackout that darkened a third of the city and persisted into a second day for parts of Civic Center and the Richmond. For many of these San Franciscans, confusion has morphed into rage against Pacific Gas & Electric as city leaders struggle to provide answers and resources.
‘This is obviously not OK’
“City Hall is closed due to the power outage,” said a sign on letterhead taped to the building Monday. Eliana Biadini told The Standard she had come to City Hall to file for a marriage license.
“I know they’re going to be closed on the 24th. I’ve just been hoping to get it done,” she said, disappointedly, before calling an Uber.
District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong, who represents the Sunset, said he plans to call for a public hearing to probe the reasons behind the prolonged outage.
“We still don’t have a clear explanation for how a localized incident escalated into an outage affecting so many neighborhoods,” Wong said in a statement.
Traffic slowed to a crawl for hours as stoplights and streetlights went dark. | Source: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images
Authorities linked the blackout to a fire at a PG&E substation in SoMa, but Wong noted that portions of San Francisco faced repeated outages earlier in the month.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, wearing a black jacket and a dour expression Sunday night, said he would have some “real honest” discussions with PG&E to find out what happened and why the outage lasted so long. In an Instagram (opens in new tab) post Monday morning, Lurie said about 5,000 customers remained without power.
“I’ll be pressing them very hard, because this is obviously not OK,” Lurie told The Standard on Sunday night outside the Richmond Recreation Center, which is serving as the resource hub for affected residents. “We’ll get to the bottom of that in the next day or two, I hope.”
He declined to answer when asked if San Francisco should pursue a public power system with ownership of its grid — a question renewed by the outage — saying his focus remains on taking care of residents.
No power, no water, no end in sight
One of King’s neighbors at the NEMA building, Annie Benisch, spent two days camping in her apartment, throwing away hundreds of dollars’ worth of holiday groceries while receiving inaccurate estimates from PG&E about when power would be restored. She said it’s “insane” that the city where the utility is based could be without power for two days.
Benisch, who lives on the sixth floor, climbed the stairs numerous times, hauling spoiled food from her refrigerator and freezer, and searched for places with electricity so she could work and shower. She said the groceries she lost cost roughly four times her monthly power bill and included high-value holiday items. She said she was struck by the lack of empathy from PG&E’s customer service reps during her repeated calls.
“I’m at least grateful that I have somewhere to go,” Benisch said, adding that many building residents did not. A staffer in the NEMA lobby said power had been partially restored, but the outage was still affecting the building’s water system.
Myron Lee, who lives in the Outer Richmond, said his power remained out Monday morning. Concerned about his elderly parents — his father relies on an electronic medical device while sleeping — Lee began calling the city hotline Sunday afternoon for a hotel voucher and received confirmation after midnight.
“This has been a very frustrating process. PG&E really has to get its act together,” Lee said Monday morning. “We live in one of the most advanced cities in the world, and we don’t have power.”
While power has been restored to most of the Richmond District after a blackout lasting more than 24 hours, a block of Balboa Street between 26th and 27th avenues remains without electricity and is expected to stay dark until 11 p.m. Monday, potentially leaving dozens of residents without power for several more hours.
Residents said their frustration has been fueled by a lack of communication from PG&E and repeatedly shifting restoration estimates. John McAllen, who has lived on the block for more than 40 years, said the expected restoration time changed from noon to 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. in a single day. “Lying bastards, they’re a bunch of drunks,” the 82-year-old said. “The lies, the disinformation, we’re in the dark.”
Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the Richmond, expressed frustration.
“I certainly am very disappointed just where we’re at right now in terms of power restoration,” Chan said at the Richmond Recreation Center. “It’s most definitely very difficult for the Richmond.”
Chan noted that the outage coincided with the winter solstice, a significant holiday for many Chinese families.
“It’s difficult for people who were preparing for tonight — especially Chinese American families who stocked up on food and filled their refrigerators,” she said. “And the same goes for many other families preparing for holiday parties or getting ready for Christmas.”
