"It's so loud": Noisy PG&E generators causing new problems for SF residents

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - People in San Francisco are glad to have their power restored after last weekend's blackout, but for some residents there's a trade-off to having the lights back on. 

PG&E has installed massive generators in the Richmond neighborhood to shore up the power supply, and neighbors say the noise from those generators is driving them crazy. 

What they're saying:

"It's so loud," said Krissel Potter, who lives in the Richmond. 

"It's pretty loud because my bedroom is facing the street," said Richmond neighborhood resident Annette Carnegie. 

Why are the generators there? 

The racket is coming from several huge generators outside the PG&E substation at 24th Avenue and Balboa Street. 

They were brought in Sunday to supply extra power while repairs continue at the Mission Street substation where a fire knocked out power to a third of San Francisco. 

Carnegie says the noise has added insult to injury after not having power for two days. 

"It's just really tough to live around the noise," said Carnegie. 

The generators have been running nonstop, day and night. 

Residents concerned about sleep loss, hearing damage

"I do wake up to it, unfortunately, sometimes, said Potter. 

"I feel anxious when I stay in the sound too long," said one resident who lives just feet away from the generators, and didn't want to be identified. 

"We've hung heavy blankets and pillows in the windows and around the doors," she said. 

But that only does so much, with the sound level hovering around 70 decibels — sometimes higher. 

"It's more than 85 decibels [inside] at times," she said. "We've recorded it as high as 100."

ENT doctor weighs in

"Anything over 85 decibels is considered to be unsafe over eight hours or more," said ear, nose and throat doctor Ted Mazer. "If you're healthy, it should recover. But if you have continual exposures or repetitive exposures, you may get permanent damage."

PG&E response

PG&E declined KTVU's request for an interview about this, but said in a statement:

To support those impacted, we are offering:

• Hotel accommodations plus $200 per day for food for the duration of generator use.
• Expedited claims processing for customers who declined a hotel relocation.

As of Saturday evening, there's no official word from PG&E on how long the generators will be in use, but some residents say they've been told by the utility that the generators could be running for another week. 

Residents say this is not sustainable. 

"I wish that this would get resolved and that PG&E would communicate a little bit better," said Carnegie. 

"If they can come up with a solution sooner than later, it would be really helpful for the community here," said Potter.