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SFPUC hears rate‑setting options as power review advances toward December
Summary
Commission staff and consultants updated the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on a power enterprise revenue‑requirement and rate‑design review, outlining alternatives and seeking policy direction on equity, low‑income discounts, public‑purpose charges and the interaction with community choice aggregation.
Todd Wiesstrom, the SFPUC’s chief financial officer and assistant general manager, presented a consultant‑led review of the power enterprise’s revenue requirement and possible rate designs, saying, “It’s really a pleasure to be before you today to talk about power rates.” The presentation described six broad rate‑structure approaches — uniform, class‑differentiated, two‑part, tiered, time‑of‑use/seasonal and three‑part — and explained that staff and Montague de Rose will deliver a draft report and proposed rate legislation by the commission’s December meeting.
Wiesstrom told commissioners the review will include comparisons to investor‑owned utility tariffs and examine policy criteria required by the city charter, including cost‑of‑service alignment, ease of communication, administrative cost, equity and affordability. He said staff will propose a low‑income or medical discount consistent with the charter’s lifeline provisions and will analyze public‑purpose charges such as subsidy programs including the $5 million GoSolar SF subsidy currently budgeted.
Commissioners asked how projected new retail loads from redevelopment areas such as Treasure Island, Hunters Point and the Transbay Terminal could change the utility’s retail wedge. Commissioner Moran pressed how the power review interfaces with the city’s community choice aggregation (CCA) planning; Wiesstrom and staff said the CCA would handle generation procurement while SFPUC would continue to provide distribution and, where applicable, retail service in redevelopment areas. ‘‘This is where we really are the power provider,’’ a staff member said, distinguishing SFPUC’s generation/delivery role from CCA procurement.
Public commenters urged staff to analyze CCA scenarios explicitly. Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party told the commission that a CCA drawing Hetch Hetchy power into its system ‘‘would profoundly affect retail rate setting’’ and asked staff and contractors to add a section modeling CCA outcomes over a 10‑year horizon.
Wiesstrom said staff will score rate alternatives against commissioners’ policy criteria and provide comparisons to PG&E rates, with recommendations due for deliberation in late November and action possible on Dec. 14. No formal vote was taken; the session was an information‑gathering step in a multimonth rate‑setting process.
