🚨 BREAKING CHAOS: Newsom VANISHES in PANIC as MASSIVE Blackouts CRIPPLE California—Lights OUT, Streets DARK, and the Grid COLLAPSES! 😱 What’s He Hiding While Families Freeze and Holiday Shopping Grinds to a HALT? Shocking Details Emerging—Is This the End of His Green Dream? 👀 Tap NOW Before the Power Flickers Again… You Won’t See This Coming! 🔥⚡

A massive power outage struck San Francisco on December 20, 2025, leaving tens of thousands without electricity during a busy holiday shopping weekend and raising fresh questions about California’s fragile energy infrastructure. The blackout, which affected around 130,000 PG&E customers at its peak, stemmed from equipment failures and a substation fire, disrupting daily life, halting public transit, and even stranding autonomous vehicles on city streets. As restoration efforts stretched into the following days, with City Hall forced to close on Monday, December 22, Governor Gavin Newsom faced mounting backlash from critics who argue his push for clean energy has left the state vulnerable to such crises.

The outage began around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, initially impacting over 14,600 customers in the Inner Sunset and surrounding areas. By early afternoon, it had escalated, with a fire at a PG&E substation around 2:15 p.m. exacerbating the problem. Power was cut to entire neighborhoods, from Hayes Valley to the Outer Sunset, leaving residents and businesses in the dark for hours. By 3 p.m., the disruptions had spread eastward across the city, affecting an estimated 23,000 people in two major incidents. PG&E, the state’s largest utility, reported that the failures occurred at key substations, highlighting ongoing challenges with aging infrastructure amid increasing demands on the grid.

Holiday shoppers were hit hard, with malls and stores in affected areas grinding to a halt. BART and Muni train services were disrupted, stranding commuters, while Waymo self-driving cars—ubiquitous in San Francisco—were left immobilized on roadways due to the loss of power to traffic signals and charging stations. One eyewitness described the scene as “eerie,” with darkened streets and stalled vehicles creating a post-apocalyptic vibe in the heart of the tech-savvy city. Emergency services scrambled to respond, but no major injuries were reported, though the timing—just days before Christmas—amplified frustrations among residents already weary from California’s recurrent energy woes.

Governor Newsom, who has positioned California as a leader in clean energy transition, has not publicly addressed this specific outage as of December 22, 2025. His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but sources close to the administration indicated that state officials were monitoring the situation closely. This silence has fueled speculation and criticism, with some conservative commentators dubbing it “Newsom’s blackout nightmare,” echoing broader complaints about his governance. A viral social media post captured the sentiment: “Newsom HIDES IN TERROR as Power SHUTS OFF in California!!!”—a phrase that quickly trended on platforms like Facebook and X.

Critics point to Newsom’s ambitious environmental policies as a root cause of the state’s energy instability. In recent years, California has aggressively pursued renewable energy goals, with Newsom boasting that the state ran on two-thirds clean energy for nine out of 10 days in 2025. Under his leadership, battery storage capacity has surged by over 1,900% since 2019, reaching more than 15,000 megawatts, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the grid. Yet, detractors argue these efforts have come at the expense of reliability, with utilities like PG&E resorting to public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) during high winds or heatwaves to prevent wildfires—events that have become more frequent due to climate change.

A scathing report titled “Top 50 Disasters Gov. Gavin Newsom Has Ushered into California: 2025 Edition” lists rolling blackouts as one of the governor’s key failures, claiming residents must “get used to” such disruptions while paying some of the nation’s highest energy rates. The document, published by the California Globe, accuses Newsom of prioritizing green initiatives over practical infrastructure upgrades, leading to skyrocketing costs and unreliable service. For instance, during a heatwave earlier in 2025, PG&E warned of potential shutoffs in Northern California, a move that critics say exemplifies the state’s precarious balance between environmental goals and energy security.

Newsom’s defenders counter that the outages are symptomatic of broader issues, including PG&E’s history of negligence—evidenced by the utility’s role in deadly wildfires like the 2018 Camp Fire—and the impacts of extreme weather. In August 2025, Newsom signed an executive order to bolster clean energy progress in the face of federal rollbacks under the Trump administration, emphasizing the need for regional energy markets to lower costs and avoid blackouts. He has also pushed for affordability measures, such as a proposal to expand regional power markets that could save consumers over $1 billion annually. Additionally, on December 19, 2025, Newsom announced $52 million in grants to communities, including funds for generators and HVAC improvements in rural areas to mitigate power outages during extreme weather.

The San Francisco blackout is not isolated. California has endured multiple high-profile power crises in recent years. In 2024, during a severe storm, utilities cut power to prevent fire risks, leaving residents without electricity amid cold snaps. Earlier in 2025, a January wildfire near Los Angeles prompted similar shutoffs, with Trump-era comments resurfacing about Newsom’s handling of water and power resources. Social media has amplified these grievances, with X users lambasting Newsom for promoting electric vehicles (EVs) while the grid struggles. One post from November 2025 highlighted Texas providing power to California during shortages, accusing Newsom of hypocrisy. Another, from August 2025, noted 50,000 households without power during a 110-degree heatwave, blaming Newsom’s policies for “suffering and death.”

PG&E has faced its own scrutiny. The utility, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2020 after wildfire liabilities, has invested billions in grid hardening but continues to grapple with equipment failures. In this latest incident, a sustained fire at an underground substation was cited as a key factor. Company spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian stated that crews worked around the clock to restore power, with most customers back online by Sunday evening, though isolated pockets remained affected into Monday. PG&E has defended PSPS as necessary for safety, but consumer advocates argue it disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and low-income families.

The political ramifications are significant. With Newsom eyed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, these outages provide ammunition for opponents. Conservative voices, including radio hosts and online influencers, have seized on the narrative of a governor “hiding” from accountability. A January 2025 X post accused Newsom of staging fire resources at his personal winery during past blazes while neglecting public needs. Even some Democrats have expressed frustration, with calls for more aggressive infrastructure investment.

Broader energy debates loom. Newsom’s reversal on closing the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant—originally set for shutdown in 2025—reflects efforts to maintain baseload power. A $2.5 million campaign influenced his decision to extend its life, providing a buffer against renewables’ intermittency. However, analyses like those from Energy Innovation warn that federal policies could hike Californians’ energy bills by over $320 annually, complicating state goals.

As California pushes toward 100% clean energy by 2045, experts emphasize the need for balanced approaches. “We’re running the fourth-largest economy in the world on 67% clean energy,” Newsom has said, but incidents like this underscore the challenges. Utility regulators are investigating the outage, with potential fines if negligence is found. Meanwhile, residents like those in the Sunset District are left wondering when the next blackout will hit.

In the end, this event highlights the tension between California’s environmental ambitions and the practical demands of a reliable grid. Whether Newsom’s strategies will prevent future crises remains an open question, but for now, the lights are back on—albeit tenuously—in the Golden State.