San Francisco Power Outages and Why Home Batteries Matter
San Francisco has experienced a notable surge in power outages over the last two months, leaving residents and businesses frustrated and in some cases without power for hours or days. These outages include unplanned blackouts affecting more than 130,000 homes and businesses as well as multiple planned outages for safety and repair work.
Multiple Outages in a Short Period
In late December 2025 a major PG&E outage left about one third of San Francisco without power, impacting neighborhoods from the Outer Richmond to SoMa. At the peak of that event more than 130,000 customers were without power.
In the weeks since, customers have faced additional planned outages while PG&E crews worked to repair damage from a substation fire. One planned outage affected about 3,600 customers in the Civic Center area, and another impacted around 14,000 customers in the Richmond and Sunset districts.
In early January another storm related outage left thousands of residents without power across multiple neighborhoods, highlighting that both infrastructure failures and weather events are contributing to instability.
Businesses and Residents Are Feeling the Strain
The ripple effects of these outages are real. In the Sunset District some businesses are preparing to take legal action against PG&E for damages they say were not covered by the utility’s compensation offers after outage events. Local officials have also called for hearings into the massive blackouts to understand what went wrong and how future events can be prevented.
This level of frequency — major and prolonged outages followed by intermittent planned outages — is affecting daily life, food preservation, work operations, medical devices and business continuity.
Why Outages Are Becoming More Common
Power systems across the United States are under pressure from aging infrastructure increasingly extreme weather and higher demand. While utilities like PG&E invest in upgrades and wildfire safety practices these efforts sometimes cause temporary service interruptions. Repeated outages in a short period of time can also result from repair work needed after initial equipment failures, like substation fires.
The Case for Home and Business Battery Backup
Given this recent pattern in San Francisco households and businesses should seriously consider installing battery backup systems. Batteries paired with or without solar power provide multiple key benefits:
Reduce Disruption During Outages
A home battery can keep essential systems running when the grid goes down, including refrigeration lighting and medical equipment.
Protect Sensitive Electronics
Power interruptions and surges can damage electronics and appliances. A battery backup with surge protection creates a buffer between your property and grid instability.
Improve Preparedness for Planned Work
Planned outages may give little notice but battery systems ensure continuity without relying solely on portable generators or disruption prone alternatives.
Work Better with Solar and EV Charging
If you already have or are considering solar panels or an EV charger a battery system can store excess energy for later use. This not only improves resilience but can also reduce peak usage costs under certain rate plans.
Planning for the Future
San Francisco residents have seen that outages are not isolated incidents and that even planned outages can last hours. Installing a robust battery backup system supported by a professional electrical evaluation ensures your home or business is more resilient. When paired with a performance and safety assessment you can better match battery capacity to your needs and avoid overload or improper sizing.