SFPUC staff say Clean Power SF on track for August launch; public and commissioners spar over model, rates and jobs

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff updated the Local Agency Formation Commission on Jan. 25 about the status of Clean Power SF, the city's community choice aggregation (CCA) program, saying the program remains on track for an August launch but that adoption of not-to-exceed rates could slip from February to early March as the Rate Fairness Board reviews recovery timelines and staff completes customer polling.

Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for power at the SFPUC, told commissioners the SFPUC received a presentation this week from consultant Local Power that outlined a business case and financial deliverables for accelerating local build-out. Hale said staff are compiling follow-up questions for the consultant and that the SFPUC prefers to have the Rate Fairness Board comfortable with proposed not-to-exceed rates before the SFPUC adopts them. Hale also said the California Public Utilities Commission has scheduled hearings tied to PG&E's green tariff request, with a Feb. 15 hearing date that could affect settlement discussions.

Hale said one of the drivers of uncertainty is how quickly the program will recover dedicated start-up funds. She said staff presented a full-recovery schedule over roughly 4.5 years, which would raise initial customer rates more quickly; the Rate Fairness Board is discussing whether to extend the recovery period to soften early rate impacts. Hale also said SFPUC is refreshing its phone polling of customers to test opt-out and acceptance assumptions and intends to share polling questions with LAFCO members when appropriate.

In public comment and later discussion, several advocates urged LAFCO to back Local Power's behind-the-meter model, which emphasizes many small local renewable and efficiency installations and, advocates said, would both lower transmission and distribution costs and create local jobs. Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party said a shift toward large, remote "in front of the meter" solar farms recently proposed by PUC staff would "roughly double" costs to customers and reduce local job opportunities. Al Weinreb of the Local Clean Energy Alliance and Michelle Myers of the Sierra Club highlighted Local Power's preliminary jobs estimate (cited in the record as about 3,000 jobs per year) and urged LAFCO and the SFPUC to prioritize immediate community benefits and to reduce rollout rate increases.

SFPUC staff and LAFCO commissioners acknowledged the debates and said they plan additional technical review and peer review, continued stakeholder meetings, and possible joint meetings between SFPUC and LAFCO staff to identify a pathway forward. Hale said SFPUC has an acting CCA director; the funded vacancy for a permanent director has been submitted into the city's hiring process and is pending the Mayor's committee that releases requisitions.

Because the SFPUC's rate decisions and build model will shape customer premiums, local jobs and when visible community benefits appear, both staff and public commenters urged more analysis and further dialogue rather than immediate policy reversal. The SFPUC presentation at its commission meeting and the CPUC schedule were described as key near-term milestones for defining the program's structure.