Power restored for some PG&E customers, thousands still without electricity due to equipment failure

PG&E CEO testifies, answers questions at mass outage hearing

The CEO of PG&E said the utility company appeared at a San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing Thursday, and said the company is working to address problems with communication, crisis response, and infrastructure that emerged during the December mass power outage that impacted some 137,000 customers.

SAN FRANCISCO - Nearly 14,000 PG&E customers in San Francisco were left without power Friday afternoon, the utility reported.

The "unplanned" outage was first reported around 2:30 p.m. 

The company later said that that outage was due to an equipment failure in an underground vault at 18th and Guerrero streets near the Castro District.

By 4:55 p.m., the company said the number of affected customers had been reduced to about 3,100.

PG&E outage near Sunset District

According to PG&E, the power outage is affecting areas near Golden Gate Park and the city's Sunset District.

"Our team is evaluating the electrical system to identify damaged sections and make necessary repairs in order to safely turn the power back on," PG&E said on its website. 

Power is expected to restored by 8:15 p.m., the company said.

Previous San Francisco power outage

The Sunset District has become all too familiar with power outages in recent months. The neighborhood was affected by a massive December outage that left more than 130,000 San Francisco residents in the dark for nearly two days.

Following the widespread outage in December, PG&E offered residential customers and business owners credits of $200 and $2,500, respectively, though some said it wasn't enough. 

Sunset business owners announced earlier this year their intention to sue the utility over the outage.

This is developing. Check back for updates.