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SF PUC authorizes Clean Power SF to expand initial phase to 75 MW, approves amendment striking 'approximately'
Summary
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission voted to give the general manager authority to expand Clean Power SF beyond the original 50‑megawatt phase and to procure supplies to serve up to 75 megawatts average, after debate about rate impacts and an amendment removing the word 'approximately' from the resolution.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on Thursday voted to authorize the general manager to exceed the program’s originally targeted 50‑megawatt average demand for Clean Power SF and set a new initial enrollment cap at 75 megawatts average.
The action followed a staff presentation from Michael Himes, director of Clean Power SF, who said the program’s low opt‑out rate and rising enrollments drove the request. Himes told commissioners the May enrollment opt‑out rate was 1.6% (up from 1.5% at the previous report), that Super Green participation is about 3%, and that staff had 551 customers signed up for the August enrollment period. “This action is really a reflection of the success of the program, and the low opt out rate that we’ve experienced,” Himes said.
Why it matters: staff said the extra authority would allow short‑term purchases to meet near‑term customer demand while preserving commission review of long‑term, multi‑year supply contracts. Himes emphasized that any supply commitments would be made in line with the power enterprise’s trading risk management policy and the commission‑adopted business practice policies.
During debate, Commissioner Maroon asked whether expanding procurement would affect existing customer rates. Himes responded, “the supplies that we’re looking at to support the fall enrollment do not cause a rate impact.” Commissioners and members of the public also discussed whether the resolution’s text should include a hard numeric cap. A motion to delete the word “approximately” in front of the figure 75 carried, and the main resolution was approved.
Public comment at the meeting included praise from Jason Fried, executive officer of San Francisco LAFCO, and others who credited staff for the program’s launch and urged the commission to allow staff to scale the program as policy permits. Fried also noted technical distinctions between contracting in megawatt‑hours and the megawatt figures used to describe load.
What happens next: staff said it will return to the commission with a program growth plan and an integrated resource plan by the end of the year (the resource plan may lag into the next year) to guide citywide rollout and longer‑term procurement. The approved authority permits procurement to serve up to 75 megawatts average in the near term but does not delegate approval of large, multi‑year contracts to staff.
The commission approved the resolution after the amendment and vote; commissioners did not specify a detailed roll call tally in the public record at the time of the vote.
