SF seeks green power alternatives to PG&EBy Steven T. Jones and Rebecca Bowe
With a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors today, San Francisco took a big step into the clean energy business, approving the issuance of a Request for Proposals for projects that will be part of the Clean Power SF program that will compete for customers with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
The city’s version of the so-called Community Choice Aggregation program has involved “seven years of preparing San Francisco to get into the green energy business,” said Sup. Ross Mirkarimi, who has shepherded the program as chair of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).
While PG&E has relentlessly attacked CCA efforts, both locally and through a statewide initiative campaign for would require a two-thirds popular vote for counties to create them, the 11-0 vote here seems to indicate Clean Power SF isn’t as controversial as PG&E would like people to believe.
“This step is a very important step and it’s been an eye-opening experience to serve on LAFCo,” Sup. Bevan Dufty, referring to opposition from PG&E and some of its business community allies and adding, “When the public understands the issues, they like competition and a more sustainable city.”
Clean Power SF will be administered by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which has set program goals that the portfolio must include 51 percent renewable energy by 2017 and meet or beat PG&E’s rates, even though the utility company hasn’t been able to meet state requirements of having at least 20 percent of its power come from renewable sources.
Yet rather than telling potential suppliers that no proposals will be considered that do not fully meet the program goals, LAFCo and the SFPUC agreed that the RFP should “clearly identify all CCA program goals, state a strong preference that all proposals meet all program goals, and ensure that qualified proposals that meet all CCA program goals will receive more points than proposals that do not.”
The parameters were widened in an effort to attract more interest, allow for more options to choose from, and stay on schedule. Clean Power SF director Mike Campbell said on Oct. 30 that once the city has received responses to the RFP and selected providers, it must go before the California Public Utilities Commission with the frontrunners in negotiations and gain the commission’s approval before sealing the deal and signing up customers. He said he expected the RFP to be dispersed early this week.
Then there’s the task of selling the program to San Franciscans, in order to establish a customer base. “We are going to start gearing up in terms of our program marketing,” Campbell noted. “The timing is important. We want [customers] to be signing up around the time that the program launches.”
There is concern that PG&E could also try to thwart the growth of San Francisco’s customer base through a misinformation campaign, just as Dufty noted the utility spent more than $10 million to do last year in defeating Prop. H, a clean and public power initiative.
But city officials appeared ready for a fight. “With this kind of effort, PG&E is going to fight you every step of the way,” Sup. David Campos said at today’s hearing. “But if given the information, [San Franciscans] will be on our side because the facts are on our side.”
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Comments (2)
I'm wondering if the biggest Achilles Heel of CCA is in letting the SFPUC run it? The agency has clearly been politicized, and a mayor who's in the pocket of PG&E could appoint a PG&E flunkie as PUC head. In fact, didn't that already happen after Newsom unceremoniously replaced Susan Leal?
Posted by JWM | November 4, 2009 12:36 PM
As one of the organizers of the CCA fight I can tell you that we have no intention whatsoever of letting the SFPUC have sole authority over CCA. The founding ordinance passed in July 2007 allows us to use the LAFCo to leverage the SFPUC to where we need them to be whether they like it or not.
It's backbreaking work to employ that leverage and keep it tight, but it has thus far kept us well enough on course that we have a viable chance to get to 50% clean electricity in the next decade in San Francisco.
Also, a voting majority of the SFPUC commission itself is very supportive of a strong CCA program, so were in pretty good shape if we need to ask the commissioners to intervene with staff. Indeed we have already asked such, and they have already done so, helping to keep the program on track.
:)
Posted by Eric Brooks | November 4, 2009 02:55 PM