BURLINGAME, Calif. (KRON) -- Dozens of customers in Burlingame are without power Wednesday as Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE) works to restore power after what they say was a hazardous leak. Business owners on Broadway were affected. There was a chaotic scene in downtown Burlingame on Broadw ay with a traffic bottleneck in the busiest part of town. Power has been out on and off for days, hurting some small businesses that have been forced to close for the foreseeable future. PGE crews are working to restore power after a hazardous substance from a third-party source leaked into electric vaults in the area, according to the utility. PGE intentionally turned off power for about 1,000 customers, citing safety reasons as hazmat crews work to clear the vaults. PGE electricity rates are down — but your bill might not be PGE has not said when power will turn back on for all of those customers. In the meantime, a generator has replaced customer parking at Maverick Jack’s, which hasn’t had consistent power since the weekend. ”We had no business last night. We've lost lunch today," Maverick Jack's owner Michael Mallie said. "We've just seen some customers walk away. We're hoping to get back up in power with PGE connecting a generator in a little bit. So hopefully we'll get dinner tonight.” Until then, they closed down and moved food to other locations to avoid spoiling, causing frustrations running high. ”You have a communication problem in general with kind of letting people know what's going on," Mallie said. "Being accountable to their customers because, at the end of the day, that's what we all are and we don't have any choice in that matter.” Down the street, a Burlingame staple for 80 years, Preston’s Candy and Ice Cream owner Francesco Santiago said he also lost business and gallons of ice cream as they sat in the dark. ”All the ice cream on one side to the other side is to keeping cold. But some ice cream. And then and now," Santiago said. "And this morning I get a new ice cream and I think we lose another around the ice cream.” Workers have also not been able to make candy in-house for four days, losing precious time ahead of the Valentine's Day rush. ”We cannot replace, we have to start again and we pay so much to PGE every month and the bill always come,” Santiago said. The intersection of Broadway and Carolan Avenue will be closed off to traffic for the time being. ...read more read less