Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rate Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFPUC rate study flags affordability, water budgets and possible stormwater fee
Summary
At a workshop the SFPUC presented a 10-year rate study showing capital needs drive most proposed increases and asked commissioners for guidance on rate design, affordability metrics, water budgets and incentives such as a stormwater fee or conservation charge.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff on Wednesday presented a draft five-year and 10-year rate study that emphasizes the agency’s capital-investment needs and seeks policy guidance on affordability and rate design.
"About 75 percent of all the rate increase that's needed is to pay for capital investment," Todd Reichdrum, Assistant General Manager and CFO, told commissioners as staff closed the technical work and opened a policy conversation. The draft projects average household increases of roughly $7–$8 per month over the next five years under the current assumptions and seeks direction on tiering, water budgets, and low-income measures.
Commissioners and staff discussed several policy choices. Commissioner Moran urged the study to go beyond an 'average household' affordability metric (2.5% of average household income) and to measure how many households actually exceed affordability thresholds. "The average just isn't relevant," Moran said, adding that the commission should examine distributional measures and consider mechanisms to align the utility’s fixed cost structure with conservation incentives.
Several commissioners and staff also raised the prospect of a stormwater or conservation fee to provide a stable revenue stream for green infrastructure and stormwater management while creating incentives for low-impact development. Commissioner Viator pointed to a recent SPUR report recommending a stormwater-fee approach tied to parcel impervious area as a way to incentivize green infrastructure and fund watershed-scale projects.
Staff noted other design questions: whether to keep two tiers (current system) or adopt additional tiers used by neighboring cities; how to provide large-family adjustments to avoid penalizing households with more occupants; and how to expand outreach (polling and broader surveys were suggested) during the public engagement phase. No final rate decisions were taken; staff will incorporate commissioner policy direction as the study advances and will return during the winter budget cycle.
