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LAFCO hears Clean Power SF procurement update, lowers credit threshold and signs on against Proposition 23
Summary
LAFCO received an SFPUC update on the Clean Power SF supplier RFP, agreed to broaden bidder eligibility by lowering an investment-grade credit threshold and extending the deadline, and voted without objection to sign a statement opposing Proposition 23.
San Francisco's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on Thursday took steps to broaden eligibility for the city's Community Choice Aggregation supplier procurement and formally backed a statement opposing Proposition 23.
Mike Campbell, director of the SFPUC's Community Choice Aggregation program, told commissioners the RFP issued Aug. 6 has drawn market attention through outreach and trade advertising, and that staff has proposed two amendments to widen the candidate pool. "We issued an addendum to the RFP, which reduced the minimum credit requirement ... to BAA3, BBB minus," Campbell said, describing the change as a shift to the lowest investment-grade notch. He also said the submission deadline would be extended from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13.
The changes aim to let firms that may previously have considered themselves marginally ineligible submit proposals, Campbell said, while preserving the city's preference for a single supplier. LAFCO staff noted the RFP bundles two tasks (energy supply/portfolio management and customer-care/call-center operations) and encouraged joint bids where firms lack the full range of capabilities.
Caroline Tang, LAFCO staff, briefed the commission on Proposition 23, the Nov. 2 ballot measure that would suspend AB 32 (the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) until California's unemployment rate drops below 5.5% for four consecutive quarters. "AB 32 basically requires that the state's greenhouse gas levels get reduced to 1990 levels by 2020," Tang said; she and staff recommended LAFCO consider signing a resolution opposing the proposition because of its potential effects on renewable investment and the Clean Power SF program.
Commissioner Abalos moved that LAFCO "sign on to a statement against Prop 23"; Commissioner Schmelzer seconded. During public comment, Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party urged staff to circulate the proposed RFP amendments to advocates and cautioned that reducing the credit threshold should be paired with scoring that favors the strongest financial proposers. After public comment, the commission advanced the resolution without recorded objection.
Next steps: SFPUC staff said a Q&A for bidders would be distributed promptly and legal and scoring questions about allowing task-specific bids will be reviewed. Staff and commissioners agreed to continue discussions and to coordinate a joint meeting with the PUC in November to assess final scoring and next steps.
Quotes in this article are taken from LAFCO meeting remarks by SFPUC director Mike Campbell, LAFCO staffer Caroline Tang and public commenter Eric Brooks.
