LAFCO hears SFPUC staff on Clean Power SF term sheet as SFPUC delays vote; commissioners urge joint meeting

San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission Chairperson Campos heard a presentation from Mike Campbell, director of the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program known as Clean Power SF, detailing a term sheet under negotiation for wholesale power supply and program design.

Campbell told the commission the program is being developed as a 100% renewable product and that staff is negotiating a wholesale supply and scheduling arrangement with Shell Energy. He described an approximately 4.5‑year supply term with prices specified year‑by‑year and a modest rate‑stabilization surcharge—about $2 per megawatt‑hour—proposed to build reserves for short‑term price fluctuations.

Why it matters: the term sheet governs how the city will buy power, manage price risk and phase customer enrollment. Campbell said staff plans a phased enrollment beginning with roughly 75,000 customers (about a 30‑megawatt initial load) to limit volume risk rather than enrolling every customer at once.

Campbell also highlighted regulatory and financial uncertainties, including a pending California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) method for calculating a bond amount intended to protect PG&E if CCA customers return abruptly to the utility; the CPUC decision remains unresolved, Campbell said. He said certain contract execution conditions would be tied to favorable regulatory outcomes and to prices that match SFPUC forecasts.

Interim executive officer Nancy Miller told commissioners that because the SFPUC commission asked follow‑up questions at a recent briefing, the SFPUC did not vote on the term sheet and may hold a special meeting in August. "Since that did not occur, I wanted to just briefly say that that may change my recommendation to you," Miller said, adding staff plans to brief new SFPUC commissioners in August or arrange a joint meeting if needed.

Commissioners pressed for a firm resolution. Chairperson Campos said she expected a PUC vote before the Board of Supervisors' recess and requested staff send a formal letter urging prompt SFPUC action. Several commissioners said they prefer a joint LAFCO–SFPUC meeting to resolve outstanding questions on risk allocation, appropriations and program build‑out.

Public advocates at the hearing urged faster action and more emphasis on a local renewable build‑out. Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party and other speakers said keeping the term sheet stalled at the SFPUC has made the process insular and argued the Board of Supervisors should receive the term sheet so the community and supervisors can address outstanding concerns and plan local renewable development.

The commission did not take final action on the term sheet at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to send a letter seeking SFPUC action and to pursue a joint meeting if the SFPUC does not resolve the outstanding issues.

Next step: staff will seek to coordinate a special SFPUC meeting in August or arrange a joint SFPUC–LAFCO meeting in September to secure a vote and clarify outstanding regulatory and appropriation questions.