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PUC reviews updated electric resource plan and RMI scenarios; staff to form Green Tech Advisory Committee
Summary
Staff summarized Rocky Mountain Institute analyses showing multiple scenarios can achieve a greenhouse‑gas‑free city by 2030 with similar resource mixes emphasizing energy efficiency and local renewables; PUC staff will convene a Green Technology Advisory Committee and return with recommendations by September.
Power Enterprise staff briefed the commission on an update to San Francisco’s electric resource plan, including results from consultant Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) that modeled four scenarios (status quo vs increased local control; constant vs declining technology costs).
Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for Power, said RMI’s analysis found that all modeled scenarios could reach an aggressive greenhouse‑gas‑free outcome by 2030 while producing broadly similar resource mixes that emphasize energy efficiency, distributed renewables and combined heat‑and‑power. The analysis considered both local generation opportunities and purchases from out‑of‑city resources and bounded results by technology‑cost assumptions.
Hale said the report did not model potential changes such as a re‑opening of California’s direct access program or a statewide cap‑and‑trade regime, and noted that model results assume private financing costs rather than municipal credit rates.
Staff recommended convening a Green Technology Advisory Committee to vet technical assumptions and identify pilot opportunities, then engage broader public outreach and return with specific recommendations by September. Commissioners asked about timing, potential capital proposals and program incentives that could result from the plan; staff said recommendations could include spending and legislative proposals to lower permitting hurdles for behind‑the‑meter installations.
Next step: staff will recruit advisory committee members, conduct public engagement and return with a recommended electric resource plan and options for implementation by September.
