UPDATE (12:47 PM): Many downtown traffic lights went dark and power was restored by late morning.
Utility crews worked Thursday to replace a transformer and the outage delayed legislators from starting work for about half an hour.
A power outage in California's capital city has left much of the downtown area in the dark and delayed the start of the state Legislature.
The Sacramento Municipal Utilities District reported 650 customers were without power on Thursday. That figure likely represents thousands of people as multiple high-rise office buildings and the state Capitol were affected.
The utility's website said crews were working to replace a transformer. They estimated power would be restored by 11 a.m. The state Legislature had been scheduled to meet at 9 a.m.
The outage delayed the Assembly for a half hour. The state Senate planned to meet in a legislative committee room in a nearby building.
