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San Francisco supervisors demand answers after Dec. 20 outage, seek PG&E accountability and municipalization briefing
Summary
Supervisors called for hearings and resolutions after a Dec. 20 PG&E substation fire left roughly one-third of San Francisco without power; the board asked SFPUC to brief on options to acquire local infrastructure and urged state review of PG&E's safety certification.
San Francisco supervisors pressed for accountability and options to prevent future widespread outages after a Dec. 20 substation fire that blacked out roughly 130,000 customers across large swaths of the city.
Supervisor Chan introduced two resolutions asking the city to hold PG&E accountable for the outages and urging Gov. Gavin Newsom's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to withhold PG&E's safety certificate until infrastructure inspections and maintenance are verified. Chan said the outages "disrupted small businesses, seriously impacted seniors, people living with disabilities, and caused public transit delays," and characterized the failures as the result of "neglected infrastructure maintenance by PG&E." (Supervisor Chan)
Supervisor Wong asked the board to schedule a hearing to investigate the Dec. 20 outage, describe its human impacts — including a 95‑year‑old constituent who relies on a ventilator — and to seek greater compensation and explanations from PG&E. Wong also submitted a letter of inquiry to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission asking for briefings on the practical, fiscal and operational implications of acquiring PG&E's local infrastructure, including cost estimates, financing options, the city's capacity to operate a grid and plausible timelines. (Supervisor Wong)
Supervisor Dorsey and others expressed support for exploring municipalization. Dorsey told colleagues that a municipally owned utility could better align accountability to ratepayers, arguing "this is a system failure that is unacceptable." (Supervisor Dorsey)
Supervisor Mahmoud added that the city should also examine how private actors on city streets performed during the outage, calling for a separate hearing on Waymo after reports that autonomous vehicles stalled and blocked intersections and emergency vehicles. Mahmoud said the city needs to know "what went wrong with these vehicles" and whether city agencies have tools to manage such situations in an emergency. (Supervisor Mahmoud)
PG&E, speaking through Sarah Yoll of government affairs, told the board that equipment failure at the Mission substation initiated the outage and that the company has retained Exponent to conduct a root‑cause analysis, with preliminary results expected in February. Yoll asked the board to wait for the independent investigation before drawing conclusions and said PG&E will share findings with the city and participate in requested hearings. (PG&E representative Sarah Yoll)
Why it matters: Tens of thousands of residents and businesses experienced prolonged outages in winter weather, raising safety and public‑health concerns for residents who rely on electricity for medical equipment and refrigerated medicines. The board's actions — hearings, inquiries and possible pressure on the state safety certification — signal a push for both near‑term accountability and a longer‑term review of whether public ownership or other structural changes are warranted.
What comes next: Supervisors requested prompt referrals for hearings and agency briefings; PG&E's independent investigator is expected to share preliminary findings in February, which PG&E urged the board to consider before scheduling formal hearings. (Provenance: topic introduced SEG 353; last related remarks SEG 2095.)
