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PUC staff lays out six strategies to stabilize Power Enterprise finances and expand sales
Summary
Staff presented a Power Enterprise business plan that aims to grow full-pay retail and CCA sales, contest proposed PG&E distribution terms, defer some supply spending until sales growth materializes, reduce transmission redundancies, prioritize targeted distribution investment and improve operating practices to restore long-term financial balance.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission received a staff workshop on a proposed Power Enterprise business plan intended to address a projected structural imbalance in the enterprise’s 10‑year financial plan.
Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for power, detailed six strategies: contest proposed PG&E distribution terms (including regulatory and settlement options), grow full-pay retail sales and provide some Hetch Hetchy (HECHI) supplies to community choice aggregators (CCA), defer or pace supply spending until sales growth reduces fixed‑cost burdens, reduce redundant transmission use, prioritize targeted distribution investments (Eastern Waterfront, Mid‑Market, Treasure Island, Hunters Point) and overhaul operating practices to accelerate customer-facing activities and procurement.
Hale warned that distribution utility terms with PG&E could raise costs and that the PUC has placed concerns before federal regulators and is prepared to litigate if necessary. On new sales, staff projects increasing full‑service customers from 150 megawatts to roughly 380 megawatts over time and providing about 40 megawatts of Hetch Hetchy supply to a CCA when available, while acknowledging market and hedging risks.
The presentation included cost comparisons showing high per‑MWh costs for some legacy supplies (Moccasin and Mountain Tunnel) compared with renewable alternatives and recommended pacing capital spending on those assets until revenue growth spreads fixed costs more broadly. Hale emphasized that the plan requires a significant operational shift and city-family support; Commissioners asked for a detailed risk analysis to come back in September.
Public commenters and partners—including Jason Fried of LAFCO and CAC members—questioned the assumptions and urged staff to explore targeted transmission builds into the city, battery storage at the shipyard, and equitable outreach for Bayview Hunters Point. LAFCO proposed a joint meeting with the Commission as the program moves toward critical procurement deadlines. The Commission did not vote on the plan at this meeting; it received the workshop and directed staff to present additional risk analysis and implementation details in future sessions.
