Supervisor Alan Wong Seeks Answers and Accountability After December Power Outages, Requests Board Hearing and Inquiry into City Power Options
SAN FRANCISCO, Ca (January 6, 2026) – Today, Supervisor Alan Wong will introduce a Request for Hearing into the widespread power outages that began on December 20 and left nearly one-third of San Francisco without electricity. While power was gradually restored, periodic outages continued for several days, with full restoration not achieved until December 23.
“This was not a minor inconvenience,” said Supervisor Alan Wong. “Families lost heat in the middle of winter. Seniors were stranded in their homes. One of my constituents, a 95-year-old man who relies on a ventilator, had to be rushed to the hospital at 2 a.m. People watched their phones die, worried they would lose their only connection to 911.”
The outages triggered cascading impacts across the city. Garage doors would not open, traffic signals went dark at busy intersections, and small businesses, including many along Irving Street, were forced to throw away perishable goods during one of the busiest weeks of the year.
This request follows earlier concerns raised by Supervisor Alan Wong after outages struck the Sunset District on December 7 and again on December 10. His office sent a formal letter to PG&E, stating that the frequency of outages and the level of reliability experienced by Sunset District residents were unacceptable. In response, PG&E acknowledged that this level of reliability is unacceptable and proposed a meeting with Supervisor Wong to discuss Sunset-specific reliability issues directly. Despite those exchanges, the root cause of the December 20 outage, which resulted from a substation fire near Mission and 18th Streets, remains under investigation.
“Residents deserve answers,” Supervisor Alan Wong said. “A system where one failure can take out power across half the city is not resilient. Flat credits of $200 for residents and $2,500 for businesses fall short of an adequate response. Residents deserve real remedies, concrete corrective actions, and accountability for delivering them.”
“Residents deserve answers,” Supervisor Alan Wong said. “They deserve to know why a single incident cascaded into an outage affecting the entire western half of the city. A $200 credit does not come close to covering lost food, lost wages, or medical disruptions, and $2,500 does not make small businesses whole. We need to know what PG&E is doing to prevent this from becoming a recurring failure.”
Supervisor Alan Wong thanked Supervisors Mahmood, Chan, Sherrill, Melgar, and Sauter for co-sponsoring the request and asked the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to refer the matter to committee in a timely manner so the public can receive answers without delay.
In addition to the hearing request, Supervisor Alan Wong will submit a Letter of Inquiry to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, requesting an analysis by City departments on the practical, fiscal, and operational considerations involved in acquiring, maintaining, and operating a publicly owned electric grid.
“Understanding what went wrong on December 20 is critical, but we also need to understand what options exist to prevent future outages,” Supervisor Alan Wong said. “The City has been exploring the potential acquisition of PG&E’s local infrastructure for years. This inquiry is about doing our due diligence so the Board is fully informed and positioned to act.”
The letter seeks information on costs, available financing, operational capacity, and realistic timelines associated with municipal power, with the goal of clarifying what options are within the City’s control moving forward.
“This is about accountability, preparedness, and reliability,” Supervisor Alan Wong said. “Our residents should not have to wonder whether the lights will stay on.”
