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Survey: San Franciscans’ interest in Clean Power SF rises when local buildout and lower rates are described
Summary
A February survey of 2,700 San Francisco ratepayers found that baseline awareness of Clean Power SF was low; respondents’ willingness to stay with the city’s community choice program rose from ~45% (conceptual) to as much as 52% when a local buildout was described and to 55% with a lower projected rate. Results were sensitive to price tier, and staff warned the figures depend on final rates and the availability of any PG&E competing product.
A consultant for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission told a joint LAFCO–PUC meeting that a February survey of 2,700 randomly selected ratepayers showed limited awareness of Clean Power SF but meaningful interest when program details were explained.
"We conducted 2,700 telephone interviews with randomly selected rate payers across the city in mid February," David Metz of Fairbank, Maslin, Metz and Associates said in his presentation. He said interviews were conducted in English, Spanish and Chinese and weighted to represent the local ratepayer database.
Metz said initial, conceptual testing—before respondents saw price information—found a plurality willing to pay more for 100 percent renewable electricity (43% to 38%). When respondents were asked whether they would remain with Clean Power SF after hearing a conceptual description, 45% said they would stay, 30% said they would opt out and roughly 25% were undecided.
When Metz presented the not-to-exceed, tier-specific rates being considered, the stay rate moved modestly: 47% said they would remain with Clean Power SF and 42% said they would opt out. Metz added that offering a lower, projected alternative rate increased projected retention to about 55%, while a competitive 100 percent renewable product from PG&E would draw an estimated 17% away from those who initially said they would stay.
Survey limitations and interpretation
Metz and staff cautioned commissioners that year‑to‑year comparisons are imperfect because question wording and sample frames changed. Barbara Hale, assistant general manager for Power, said this year’s survey excluded certain low‑income "care" customers consistent with the proposed Phase 1 targeting, which affects direct comparisons with prior years. Jason Fried, LAFCO staff, also noted a distinction between respondents who said they would "definitely" leave versus "probably" leave; the definite leaves were a small percentage.
The survey showed strong variation by usage tier. Metz said a clear majority of Tier 1 respondents indicated they would stay, but higher tiers were more likely to opt out once rate information was provided.
Why the results matter
Commissioners and advocates framed the results as contingent political evidence: the program’s ultimate customer retention will depend on final rates, the details of any PG&E competing product, and the strength of a concrete local buildout plan. Metz said the share staying with Clean Power SF varied between roughly 41% and 55% across the scenarios tested, underscoring rate sensitivity and the influence of buildout messaging.
The joint meeting’s next steps called for staff to return with scenario analyses that link rate choices to potential bonding capacity and local‑build funding so commissioners can assess trade‑offs before finalizing not‑to‑exceed rates.
