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PUC weighing strict targets vs. flexible scoring for Clean Power SF supplier RFP
Summary
Staff recommended a flexible scoring approach for a Community Choice Aggregation supplier RFP to avoid rejecting potentially viable bidders; commission guidance will be sought at a joint meeting with LAFCO and the Board of Supervisors will review the draft RFP per ordinance.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission debated on Sept. 22 how strictly to lock renewable-generation and local-resource targets into the procurement documents for the city's Community Choice Aggregation program, known as Clean Power SF.
Staff briefing: Mike Campbell, director of the CCA program, outlined two approaches for the supplier services request for proposals (RFP): (A) a pass/fail RFP that treats the Board of Supervisors' numeric targets as minimum mandatory criteria or (B) a scored RFP that treats those numbers as goals and gives higher scores to proposals that come closer to meeting them. Campbell noted the ordinance’s specific targets (for example, 31 megawatts of in-city photovoltaic, 73 megawatts of in-city distributed generation, 150 MW of wind outside the city, and a renewable share target to reach a majority by 2017) and cautioned that strict pass/fail criteria risked rejecting otherwise strong proposals.
Why this matters: The board’s ordinance ties the CCA program to ambitious local procurement objectives intended to favor in-city renewables and distributed generation. Staff argued that a flexible scoring approach would let evaluators consider economic and technical feasibility while still rewarding proposals that best meet the city's goals. Barbara Hale (Assistant GM for Power) and other staff emphasized the need to balance policy ambition against market realities; Marin County’s RFP experience (a dozen respondents) was cited as evidence that looser criteria can attract more bidders.
Next steps and governance: Staff planned to present draft RFP language for commission guidance at a joint PUC-LAFCO meeting and then submit a draft to the Board of Supervisors as required by ordinance. Commissioners will be asked to authorize the general manager to issue the RFP consistent with the preferred approach.
No final procurement decisions were made on Sept. 22; staff said it had prepared both RFP versions and would proceed after receiving direction.
