The darkened storefronts along San Francisco’s normally bustling Market Street tell a story that goes far beyond inconvenience. As the city enters its fourth day of widespread power disruptions, local business owners are tallying losses that could reach into the tens of millions of dollars, according to preliminary estimates from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve thrown away over $9,000 in perishable inventory since Tuesday,” says Elena Morales, owner of Crescent Heights Deli in the Mission District. “Insurance might cover some losses, but nothing will bring back the customers who’ve found alternatives while we’re closed.”
The current outages, which began after a series of underground electrical fires damaged critical distribution infrastructure, have affected approximately 68,000 customers across San Francisco’s financial district, SoMa, and parts of the Mission, creating what Mayor London Breed called “an economic emergency situation” during yesterday’s press briefing.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the utility provider responsible for the city’s electrical grid, has come under intense scrutiny as restoration timelines continue to shift. Initially promising full service restoration by Wednesday evening, the company now projects that some neighborhoods may remain without power through the weekend, citing “unexpected complications in the underground conduit system.”
For San Francisco’s restaurant industry, still recovering from pandemic-related setbacks, these outages represent an existential threat. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association estimates daily losses of approximately $2.4 million across affected establishments, with small businesses bearing a disproportionate burden.
“When you operate on margins as thin as ours, losing four or five days of business isn’t just a bad week—it potentially puts your entire operation at risk,” explains James Chen, executive chef at Ember, a popular New American restaurant in SoMa that has remained closed since Tuesday morning.
The financial district has been particularly hard hit, with major office buildings operating on emergency generators that provide only essential services. The San Francisco Controller’s Office estimates that each day of disruption in the downtown core represents approximately $27 million in lost economic activity, factoring in reduced productivity, canceled meetings, and diminished foot traffic to retail and service businesses.
At the root of the crisis appears to be what the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has previously identified as “chronic underinvestment in critical infrastructure maintenance.” A commission report published last fall highlighted San Francisco’s aging electrical infrastructure, noting that over 40% of underground distribution components in the downtown area were operating beyond their recommended service life.
PG&E spokesperson Melissa Jordan defended the utility’s maintenance record during a tense press conference yesterday. “We’ve invested over $1.4 billion in system upgrades throughout our Northern California service territory over the past three years,” Jordan stated. “The infrastructure failure we’re experiencing now represents an unfortunate and unforeseeable combination of factors, not a pattern of neglect.”
This characterization has been strongly contested by both city officials and consumer advocates. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced this morning that his office is investigating the outages to determine whether they constitute violations of PG&E’s franchise agreement with the city. “The pattern of infrastructure failures we’ve seen suggests systemic issues that demand accountability,” Chiu said.
For small business owners, the debate over responsibility offers little immediate relief. The San Francisco Small Business Development Center has established an emergency response team to help affected businesses navigate insurance claims and apply for disaster assistance, but acknowledges that such measures represent band-aids rather than solutions.
“Even with perfect execution of all available support programs, many businesses simply won’t survive an extended loss of revenue,” warns Raymond Washington, the center’s director. “We’re particularly concerned about retail and food service businesses that were already operating on razor-thin margins.”
The economic impact extends beyond immediate revenue losses. Tourism officials worry about longer-term damage to San Francisco’s reputation as a destination. The Hotel Council of San Francisco reports that several major conferences scheduled for later this month have already inquired about contingency plans, with two organizations actively exploring alternative venues.
The timing couldn’t be worse for a city working to revitalize its downtown. Recent data from the San Francisco Controller’s Office showed promising signs of recovery, with office occupancy rates reaching 74% of pre-pandemic levels in March—the highest since 2020. The current crisis threatens to undermine this progress.
State leaders have also weighed in, with Governor Gavin Newsom directing the California Office of Emergency Services to provide additional resources to San Francisco. “The situation is unacceptable,” Newsom stated yesterday. “We’re closely monitoring PG&E’s response and will ensure that all appropriate accountability measures are pursued.”
As crews work around the clock to restore power, businesses are adopting varied coping strategies. Some restaurants have organized impromptu barbecues to cook perishable inventory, selling food at discounted prices in parks and other public spaces. Retail stores have moved operations onto sidewalks, conducting cash-only transactions.
For the broader Bay Area economy, the ripple effects are just beginning to manifest. Supply chain disruptions are affecting businesses well beyond the outage zones as vendors and service providers based in affected areas struggle to fulfill commitments.
Looking ahead, business leaders and city officials alike are calling for fundamental reforms to prevent similar crises. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday to evaluate both immediate response efforts and longer-term infrastructure resilience strategies.
“What we’re experiencing isn’t simply a technical failure—it’s a governance failure,” argues Catherine Murray, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. “The question isn’t just how we restore power this week, but how we ensure reliable infrastructure for the decades to come.”
As San Francisco navigates this crisis, one thing is clear: the true cost will be measured not just in dollars lost today, but in the longer-term implications for a city whose economic vitality depends on reliable, functional infrastructure.
