22 Hours, Still No Power: Major Outage Frustrates Castro Residents And Businesses [Updated]

22 Hours, Still No Power: Major Outage Frustrates Castro Residents And Businesses [Updated]Photo: SunnyvaleRocks/Flickr
Shane Downing
Published on April 18, 2016

A power outage that started along Market Street at 9:12pm last night is still ongoing, frustrating many Castro residents and business owners. Approximately 470 total customers have been affected by the outage.

According to Daniel Bergerac, president of Castro Merchants, many businesses along upper Market were forced to close today. Sports bar Hi Tops, one of the affected spots, will have to remain shuttered despite tonight's Warriors playoff game, and other Market Street businesses, like Peet's Coffee & Tea, have also had their doors locked all day.

According to PG&E's website, the power outage was caused by damage to an underground power cable. Repair crews are reportedly on-site working to restore power. In their latest update at 3:10pm, PG&E estimated power will be restored by 10pm tonight.

In the meantime, local residents aren't happy:

The sign outside of Peet's Coffee & Tea (Photo: Shane Downing/Hoodline)


We reached out to PG&E, but have yet to receive a response. We'll keep you updated as we hear more information about the outage.

Update, 6:43pm:  According to a PG&E spokesperson, the power outage originally affected more than 1,300 customers in the Castro. Crews worked to repair underground equipment, and were able to return service to more than 800 customers around 11pm yesterday evening.

PG&E is currently working to set up a generator to provide backup power to the remaining customers, with the hope of having power restored by midnight tonight. The majority of customers currently affected by the outage are residential; however, 13 businesses also continue to be without power.

Thanks to tipster Bryan G.