SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decided in a meeting on Tuesday, January 12, that San Francisco will be launching its green energy program in May 2016. The program was initially slated to start on April 16, but it was delayed due to Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) annual rate change between the seasonal shifts, and the PUC’s goal to minimize confusion in regards to billing transitions.
The Commission determined CleanPowerSF will begin on May 1. According to CleanPowerSF’s website, the program will generate more electricity from renewable resources and offer between 33-55 percent renewable energy from sources like solar and wind power. The program will be partnering with PG&E “to deliver cleaner energy to residents and businesses.” According to CleanPowerSF, PG&E will still be the utility company “to maintain the power grid,” as well as responding to outages and sending monthly bills.
Consumers will be seeing a change to their bill starting May when PG&E will begin including CleanPowerSF charges on certain line item charges. These new CleanPowerSF charges will contribute to building a revenue source funding the city’s green energy program. The CleanPowerSF’s site states “the only thing that changes is that you’ll receive cleaner energy for no more than [what] you currently pay.” The program will be creating a renewable power generation and advancing The PUC’s goal is for the program to build a green power supply, providing electricity to customers, and creating a new generation and reduction of greenhouse gases, according to PUC Commissioner Francesca Vietor.
In addition to the 2 week delay caused by PG&E’s winter-to-summer rate change, PG&E has also created an additional hurdle by increasing exit fees for customers opting out of the utility company’s green energy program. CleanPowerSF has also faced other delays due to weather circumstances.
SFPUC General Manager has signed the first power purchase contract that will officially launch the program to have both cleaner energy and lower rates. Customers can currently pre-enroll to learn more and join CleanPowerSF at http://www.sfwater.org/cfapps/cleanpowersf/cleanpowersf.cfm.
