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PUC staff outlines Clean Power SF rollout, rate cuts and enrollment plan
Summary
PUC staff told the San Francisco LAFCO on Feb. 23 that Clean Power SF serves about 81,000 accounts, has a 3.2% opt-out rate, and is preparing for citywide enrollment in July; the PUC approved lower Supergreen premiums and made net energy metering changes to simplify customer billing.
Michael Hyams, director of Clean Power staff at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, told the Local Agency Formation Commission on Feb. 23 that Clean Power SF continues to serve about 81,000 accounts and that the program’s cumulative opt-out rate is 3.2%, which Hyams described as a 96.8% participation rate. He said roughly 4.1% of accounts have opted up to the program’s 100 percent renewable product, called Supergreen.
Hyams said the PUC on Jan. 23 approved limited rate changes that reduce the Supergreen premium: residential Supergreen will be 1.5¢ per kilowatt-hour, down from 2¢, and commercial Supergreen will be 1¢ per kilowatt-hour, down from 1.4¢. Hyams said those reductions are intended to keep Clean Power SF competitive with comparable offerings from PG&E.
The PUC also adopted modifications to the program’s net energy metering procedures, Hyams said. The changes consolidate the net surplus compensation rates into a single higher rate (the average Supergreen rate) for customer payments at annual true-up; adopt carry-forward of credits at the end of the annual true-up period as the default; and allow customers to request a check instead of carrying forward credits. Hyams said the PUC adopted a policy to carry forward credit balances for customers who have been on the program for less than 10 months prior to the annual true-up period to avoid harming those customers.
Hyams described recent legislative and administrative milestones. He said the Board of Supervisors authorized the PUC to enter into power supply contracts to support the next phase of enrollment and that the mayor signed that legislation Jan. 26. Hyams said the PUC subsequently affirmed that conditions necessary to execute contracts have been met and authorized the general manager to take actions to complete citywide enrollment.
Hyams said staff is finalizing power supply contracts and a bank credit agreement, targeting early March for initial contract execution and a July date for citywide enrollment. Staff is preparing updated enrollment notices, program materials and outreach plans; Hyams said the next enrollment phase will take into account available renewable energy supply for 2018. He also said staff is evaluating a potential rate action in April that, if adopted, would take effect July 1.
Commissioner Cynthia Pollock congratulated staff and asked for a Gantt chart showing rollout dates and major milestones; Hyams agreed to provide that at the next meeting. LAFCO took no formal action on the presentation.
