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Committee backs lease purchase financing for generator upgrades at SF General
Summary
Committee recommended a resolution authorizing up to $25 million in lease‑purchase financing to replace steam‑driven emergency generation at San Francisco General with diesel generators, which officials say will cut fuel use and meet 10‑second emergency pickup requirements without continuous operation.
The committee recommended the Board approve lease purchase financing (not to exceed $25 million) so San Francisco General Hospital can replace its aging steam‑driven emergency generation with modern diesel generators.
Anthony Aberbond (Comptroller’s Office of Public Finance) said the city expects to close the transaction in September 2009 with a 16‑year term and average debt service of about $2.57 million per year. Project managers from DPW and DPH described technical and operating benefits: current steam turbines require boilers running 24 hours a day and produce a continuous steam plume; diesel generators can provide legally required instantaneous backup within ten seconds without continuous operation, reducing fuel consumption and maintenance.
DPH operations lead Terry Sauls described the current system and said diesel generators will meet the 10‑second pickup standard without 24/7 operation. DPW project manager Christine Tang added quantified annual energy savings of roughly $2.3 million from more efficient generation and noted an ancillary water‑savings estimate (not included in the $2.3M figure) tied to lower natural gas consumption. A public commenter urged approval citing PG&E reliability concerns.
The committee voted to forward the resolution to the full Board with recommendation.
