SFPUC awards Clean Power SF billing contract to Calpine, approves temporary extension to avoid service gap

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to award procurement PRO-297 for Clean Power SF billing and data services to Calpine Community Energy and separately approved a three-month extension of the existing CS-247 contract to avoid a lapse in service.

Andrew Bevington, supervisor for the Clean Power SF customer solutions team, said two qualified bidders responded to PRO-297 and that Calpine—the incumbent under CS-247—received the highest evaluation score. “In the evaluation process, Calpine Community Energy… received the highest score,” Bevington said. He explained the extension is intended to bridge the gap while the new contract completes approvals with the Board of Supervisors and the mayor’s office.

Why it matters: Clean Power SF relies on third-party back-office services to transfer usage data from PG&E, calculate charges, and ensure revenue flows to the city. Bevington said the new contract delivers continuity for necessary billing and data functions but is not itself a systems upgrade intended to resolve unrelated historical water-billing issues.

Commissioners sought clarification on whether the new contract would address past billing problems; staff said the procurement maintains continuity and core billing services but did not present a separate upgrade plan in this item. Both items were moved, seconded and approved separately with unanimous ayes.

Next steps: Staff will implement the new contract award and the short extension while completing the approvals needed to begin the PRO-297 contract.