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LAFCO hears Clean Power SF update as staff await Board and CPUC actions
Summary
San Francisco LAFCO received updates on Clean Power SF: staff are finalizing a shell contract for the Board of Supervisors, negotiating a back-office services agreement, and watching CPUC action on a required performance bond before launch; advocates urged a prompt, targeted rollout to reduce opt-outs.
San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission Chair David Campos on Feb. 24 heard an update on Clean Power SF, the city’s community choice aggregation (CCA) effort, as staff work to finalize contracts and await decisions by the Board of Supervisors and the California Public Utilities Commission.
"We are, as you all know, waiting for the board of supervisors to hold hearings and hopefully approve the shell contract that's before the board," Mike Campbell, director of Clean Power SF at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, told commissioners. Campbell said staff are finalizing a back-office-services contract with Noble Americas and developing plans for targeted rollout and opt-out notices.
Campbell said opt-out modeling varies by customer type: lower-usage customers are likely to remain in the program, while higher-usage accounts facing an estimated roughly $15-a-month premium are more likely to opt out. "We'll probably be tinkering that frankly right up to the last minute," he said when asked about refining numbers and targeting neighborhoods to lower opt-out rates.
Nancy Miller, interim executive officer for LAFCO, said staff are preparing a Phase 2 package to present to the Board and are coordinating with advocates. She also said staff have drafted a letter for CPUC service lists and for legislative offices to seek resolution of the CCA performance-bond issue. "We have to get that bond issue resolved as soon as possible," Miller said.
Public advocates urged speed and low opt-out goals. "Advocates do want to see this finalized and underway by August," Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party and the local group Our City said during public comment, adding that advocates would be concerned by opt-out rates above about 25 percent.
The commission took a procedural motion to continue Item 3 to the call of the chair; Commissioner John Avalos moved and Commissioner Marr seconded the motion, which was taken without objection.
Next steps identified at the meeting: LAFCO and SFPUC staff will continue contract negotiations, refine opt-out projections and targeted outreach strategies, and press the CPUC for clarity about the performance-bond mechanism needed for launch. The item was continued to the chair’s call.
