Nearly 8,500 lose power in California, and PG&E says the cause is still under investigation

Nearly 8,500 San Jose residents lost electricity on August 9, interrupting normal routines across the city.

An unplanned PG&E outage knocked out power for the residents before crews began restoring service, according to The Mercury News.

What happened?

The blackout started at 7:30 p.m. and was centered largely in the Cambrian and Almaden areas of South San Jose. 

By 9:15 p.m., power had returned for many customers, although 2,591 were still without electricity.

A utility spokesperson told the Mercury News that the company was working to figure out what caused the outage and had no estimate for when service would be fully restored.

Why does it matter?

An outage can interrupt meals, cut off internet access, put refrigerated food at risk, and create serious concerns for people who rely on powered medical devices or home cooling.

In a place like South San Jose, even a relatively brief outage can disrupt work, childcare, and household routines. Aging and failing infrastructure, excessive demand, and extreme weather could all cause a blackout.

Data centers are another concern, as they are adding new strain to power grids nationwide, which can make outages like this one more common. Facilities used for AI operations consume huge amounts of electricity and vast quantities of water for cooling, putting significant pressure on utilities and pushing up bills for local residents.

What's being done?

For thousands of San Jose residents, the immediate concern was when the lights would come back on. 

An increased risk of power outages boosts the case for adding solar panels to your home. The technology can keep the lights on when the wider grid goes down, and even when the grid is fully operational, the technology can help reduce energy bills by relying less on grid-provided power.

Adding batteries can further boost savings by supplying stored energy during peak hours, and they can continue to provide power even when the sun goes down.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.