Board clears ordinance authorizing PUC to sell four combustion turbines; supervisors split on added study language

The Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance authorizing the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to sell four combustion turbines (CTs) transferred to the city as part of the Williams settlement, with separate roll-call votes on a contested amendment that would have directed the PUC to analyze feasibility of local cogeneration projects.

Supervisor Alioto-Pier said she would not support language that could delay sale of the CTs or be interpreted as allowing combustion turbines to be sited within the city; she stated, "I will not be supporting that amendment," and said she wanted the units sold quickly. Multiple supervisors debated whether the PUC should be tasked to analyze local cogeneration and the implications for air quality and the city's environmental goals. Supporters of the amendment, including supervisors who co-sponsored it at committee, said the PUC should be allowed to study options as a contingency while aggressively pursuing sale and transition to cleaner energy.

The board voted first on the ordinance without the contested subsection (the severed section); that version passed unanimously in roll call (11 yeas). The clerk then called a separate roll-call on the severed portion itself; the severed subsection also passed on the second vote with 10 yeas and 1 nay (Supervisor Alioto-Pier voted no on the severed portion). The clerk recorded the ordinance as passed in first reading as divided into the two votes.

Speakers emphasized the city's long-term goal of removing fossil-fuel generation from the city and urged aggressive negotiations with the California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) and other state actors to prevent re-siting of dirty generation in San Francisco. Several supervisors noted the vote represented both a near-term sale objective and a directive for PUC study work to be undertaken as a contingency and planning matter.