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SFPUC adopts resolution endorsing retrofit/transmission-only path for combustion turbines
Summary
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on July 8 adopted a substitute resolution directing staff to pursue retrofits and transmission-only alternatives instead of building new in‑city combustion turbines, following extensive public testimony and debate over emissions and environmental justice.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission voted July 8 to adopt a substitute resolution that sets the commission’s policy preference for pursuing retrofits and a transmission‑only alternative rather than constructing new in‑city combustion turbines.
Commissioner Sklar introduced the substitute resolution and said it expresses the commission’s goal of eliminating fossil‑fuel generating facilities within the city and county. The substitute removed earlier rescission language and a previously proposed $100,000 "safety valve" provision and was offered as the policy the commission expects staff to implement and defend to the Board of Supervisors.
The item drew extensive public comment. Environmental and river‑trust advocates supported the retrofit/transmission approach as cleaner and faster to implement, while neighborhood speakers from Bayview‑Hunters Point urged that any policy address long‑standing local pollution and that proceeds from selling turbines be used for environmental justice remedies. Labor representatives cautioned about worker impacts and urged practical planning for continued reliable service.
Commissioners debated how to compare emissions between alternatives, with several members calling for comparisons based on cumulative annual emissions and expected operating hours rather than per‑megawatt‑hour metrics. City Attorney staff and the general manager said the revised resolution would provide direction for staff to prepare comparative analyses and to return with clarifying language on assumptions such as operating hours.
The commission first voted to substitute the revised resolution on the record and then voted to adopt the resolution as distributed that afternoon. Commissioners directed staff to prepare the comparative emissions and operational analyses and to coordinate with the mayor’s office and the Board of Supervisors.
The resolution signals the commission’s policy preference; commissioners said more technical work would follow and that they retained the option of adding rescission language later if needed. The PUC’s next steps include staff analysis of retrofit emissions, operations, financial returns from selling existing turbines, and recommended implementation steps for the transmission‑only alternative.
