THE SAN FRANCISCO Local Agency Formation Commission is moving ahead with plans for a series of hearings on energy options for San Francisco. The first hearing was held Feb. 22; the next will likely be in late March.

Plans to hire a public power consultant are also advancing. Interviews with the five firms that have applied for the job are scheduled for March 15.

The agency's aggressive pursuit of public power is apparently hitting a nerve with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials. At LAFCO's March 1 meeting, commission attorney Don Maynard said PG&E attorney Jack Fallin told him that the utility is still deciding whether to participate in a future hearing. "They were reluctant to appear. The concern was that they would come in here and it would be an abusive process," Maynard said.