Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Clean Power Sf topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
LAFCO, SFPUC report CCA certification and broad multilingual outreach as Clean Power SF prepares to sign contracts
Summary
LAFCO and SFPUC staff reported that Clean Power SF’s implementation plan is CPUC‑certified, that a PG&E service agreement and supplier contract with Power Choice are nearing signature, and that multilingual mailers and door‑to‑door canvassing are under way to enroll residents and businesses.
San Francisco’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) on Tuesday reported key implementation and outreach milestones for Clean Power SF, the city’s Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. SFPUC Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale said the program’s implementation plan “has been certified as a CCA.”
The SFPUC said it expects to sign a PG&E service agreement in the coming week and then file a CPUC registration packet accompanied by a $100,000 bond. Mike Campbell, director of the SFPUC’s community choice program, said the registration package is a required step that, in another jurisdiction (Marin), was completed in three days. "We expect to be able to sign a service agreement ... next week," Campbell said.
Hale and other staff characterized the CPUC’s recent rulings as a “mixed bag.” The commission confirmed that utilities must use the opt‑out process chosen by a CCA, but, staff said, the CPUC did not fully restrict PG&E’s ability to market against CCAs. Hale said SFPUC is working with the city attorney to evaluate appeal options and reserved additional remedies where the CPUC left certain issues open.
On generation policy, Hale warned that the CPUC has stayed an order allowing CCAs to rely extensively on tradable renewable energy credits (TRECs) to meet California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, creating uncertainty for programs that had planned to use TRECs as a cost‑management tool.
SFPUC outreach staff described an expansive, multilingual campaign. Charles Sheehan of SFPUC communications said mailers in English, Chinese and Spanish were sent to about 250,000 households and were also included in PUC rate mailings to roughly 180,000 customers. Sheehan reported about 85 outreach events completed, a backlog of 23 scheduled engagements, and an estimated 7,000–8,000 doors canvassed so far. He also provided social‑media metrics: about 611 Facebook followers and roughly 235 Twitter followers for the Clean Power SF accounts.
Commissioners pressed staff on tactics for reaching immigrant and non‑English‑speaking communities. Sheehan said staff working with the outreach team include Cantonese and Mandarin speakers and that the program has coordinated with community groups including the Chinese Community Development Center and the Chinese Progressive Association. A volunteer “captain” training session was scheduled for May 26 to expand neighborhood canvassing capacity.
Public commenters offered both support and cautions. Eric Brooks of the Community Choice Energy Alliance praised the materials but urged focused outreach to commercial customers, saying they will be essential to CCA enrollment. Speaker Carrie Kris Janer urged careful attention to project financing and suggested options such as local generation or Hetch Hetchy power be weighed to lower costs. Speakers from the Sierra Club and other community groups offered volunteer support and urged a rapid transition to customer service.
Next steps: SFPUC staff said they plan to circulate a draft supplier contract and related documents to the PUC, budget analysts and advisory boards so that approving bodies have materials before early June. Staff also said they will continue coordinating with the city attorney and monitoring CPUC developments that could affect program design or resource choices.
