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SFPUC reports healthy fiscal picture; staff announces SRF loans and $15M grant for four projects
Summary
Deputy CFO Charles Pearl told the commission the SFPUC's enterprises are generally tracking above plan, with water and wastewater performing well and power showing a weakness offset by savings; staff also announced State Water Resources Control Board approval of four SRF loans plus a $15 million grant for SFPUC projects and estimated significant lifetime savings for ratepayers.
Deputy Chief Financial Officer Charles Pearl presented the SFPUC’s third-quarter financial update (to March 2017), reporting that water and wastewater enterprises are tracking at or above budget and that power revenues are slightly weaker because one irrigation district customer is no longer purchasing power. Pearl said savings from a 2016 water bond refunding would provide roughly $21 million in ratepayer savings this year.
Pearl also told the commission that the State Water Resources Control Board approved four new State Revolving Fund loans and a $15 million grant for four SFPUC projects. He described the financing as favorable relative to revenue bond alternatives and said the combined loan/grant package would produce substantial lifetime savings for ratepayers; staff will return next month with loan agreements for the commission’s review and approval.
Commissioners asked questions about demand projections and the assumptions staff will use in the upcoming budget cycle. In response to public comment, staff noted that Clean Power SF is a separate cost center and that potential state-level bills (raised by commenters) could impose additional reporting or tracking requirements for greenhouse-gas emissions that would affect program budgets if enacted.
The commission adopted the wholesale water rate schedule for FY2018 as presented, with one adjustment to a raw-water discount for the affected customer. Staff emphasized they are not assuming retail demand increases in the budget baseline and will bring updated projections and capital plans in the fall.
