San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Regular Meeting - January 25, 2022

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) held a regular meeting via teleconference on January 25, 2022, chaired by President Moran. Commissioners present: Vice President Jamy, Commissioner Maxwell, and Commissioner Paulson, constituting a quorum. The agenda included consent calendar items, reports on drought, customer programs, capital improvements, retirements, and modifications to the non-potable water ordinance program.

Remote Meeting Authorization

• The Commission unanimously (4-0) adopted renewed findings under State urgency legislation to continue remote meetings for 30 days and directed the Commission Secretary to agendize a similar resolution at a meeting within the next 30 days.

Approval of Minutes

• Minutes of the January 7, 2022 Special Budget Meeting were approved 4-0.
• Minutes of the January 11, 2022 Regular Meeting were approved 4-0, with amendments to correct roll call and vote records, including adding Commissioner Harrington's attendance and votes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Peter Dreckmeier (Tuolumne River Trust) expressed concern that the long-term vulnerability assessment did not answer whether SFPUC could meet Bay-Delta Plan flow requirements without running out of water. He requested analyses using 200 MGD demand, design drought scenarios, and earlier runoff scenarios, citing their own estimate of 237,000 acre-feet shifting to the Tuolumne River.
• David Pilpel noted his budget letter, praised retiring Deputy City Attorney John Roddy, and flagged date typos in reports (items 6F and 9C showing 2021 instead of 2022).
• Peter Dreckmeier challenged BOSCA's 50% rationing claim, calling it based on unrealistic demand projections (e.g., 265 MGD) and design drought assumptions, and urged the Commission to agendize discussions on drought scenarios.
• David Pilpel raised concerns about consent item 11D's public notice, stating the agenda item lacked sufficient detail about adding work from the Tenderloin/Knob Hill sewer project to the New Montgomery contract.
• David Pilpel provided technical and procedural comments on item 12, including a typo, lack of page numbers, and strong opposition to delegating rule-making authority to the General Manager.

Discussion Items

BOSCA Update (Item 7)

• Nicole Sandkula, CEO of Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency (BOSCA), stated that BOSCA is pleased with SFPUC's direct involvement and urged prompt participation in negotiations for a voluntary agreement for the Tuolumne River. She noted that the Tuolumne provides 85% of the water supply delivered by the San Francisco regional system, and failure to address the challenge could reduce supply by 90 million gallons per day during drought years, requiring up to 50% rationing. She referenced General Manager Herrera's January 14, 2022 letter to state secretaries expressing commitment to negotiations.

Retirements (Item 8)

• The Commission recognized John S. Roddy for 41 years of service as Deputy City Attorney advising the SFPUC, and Lisa Diep for 34 years of service, most recently as Customer Service Billing and Collections Manager. A video also honored approximately 30 SFPUC employees who retired during 2020–2021. All commissioners expressed appreciation for their public service and noted the loss of institutional knowledge.

Drought Update (Item 9A)

• Ellen Levin, Deputy Manager for Water, reported reservoir storage improvements. Hetch Hetchy was relatively high and may approach 300,000 acre-feet as the Mountain Tunnel shuts down. State reservoirs improved, with Don Pedro at 79% of historic capacity. Precipitation in January has been dry, but the forecast from January 26–February 3 looks wet. Water available to the city is 127,000 acre-feet, compared to a goal of 598,000 acre-feet to fill the system by July 1. The service area achieved a 9.2% water use reduction compared to fiscal year 2019-20.
• In public comment, Peter Dreckmeier noted that this year's precipitation so far is average (18.67 inches vs. 18.68 inches average) and argued the system is likely to fill, providing an opportunity to leave more water in the Tuolumne River.

Power Customer Program Update (Item 9B)

• Daniel Young presented an overview of the Power Enterprise's customer programs, including the program development process. He highlighted two new programs: the Low-Income Solar Inverter Replacement Program (launched November 2021) and EV Charge SF (soft launched December 2021), which offers rebates up to $3,600 per charging space for Hetch Hetchy customers installing EV charging infrastructure. Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale noted that past grant applications were denied but they will continue pursuing funds from the infrastructure bill.

Water Enterprise Capital Improvement Program Quarterly Report (Item 9C)

• Katie Miller reported 36 active projects with a total budget of $2.7 billion, with $801 million (31%) expended. Cost forecasts show regional overruns of $33 million and local overruns of $45 million, attributed to four regional and two local projects. Highlights included progress on the Alameda Creek Watershed Center and the College Hill Reservoir Outlet. Commissioners discussed improving cumulative trend analysis and transparency, and asked for a timeline for a database to track forecast data.

Non-Potable Water Ordinance Excess Use Charge Program (Item 12)

• Taylor Nakudian presented proposed technical modifications to the 2017 excess use charge program, including renaming it the Non-Potable Water Ordinance Excess Use Charge Program, modifying potable makeup allocation determination, changing reporting requirements, establishing billing methodology with a six-month cumulative basis, clarifying eligibility for suspension/allocation revisions, and authorizing the General Manager to approve future non-material modifications. The Commission approved the item 4-0.

Consent Calendar

• Item 11A: Authorized the General Manager to execute a Cost Recovery Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for $22,106.74.
• Item 11B: Approved plans, specifications, and award of Contract WD-2843 for 16-, 12-, and 8-inch ductile iron water main replacement.
• Item 11C: Approved a $200,000 increase to the cost contingency and 180-day increase to the duration contingency for Contract WD-2858R.
• Item 11D: Severed due to public notice concerns raised by David Pilpel regarding the addition of Tenderloin/Knob Hill sewer work. The item was continued to the next agenda for staff to provide more details.
• The remaining consent calendar items were approved 4-0.

Key Outcomes

• Remote meeting provisions extended for 30 days.
• Minutes for the January 7 and January 11 meetings approved.
• Consent calendar approved except item 11D, which was continued to the next meeting.
• Modifications to the Non-Potable Water Ordinance Excess Use Charge Program approved 4-0.
• Commission asserted attorney-client privilege for the closed session and later voted not to disclose discussions.
• Staff directed to provide a timeline for the CIP forecast database and to repackage item 11D.

Closed Session

• The Commission held a closed session item under San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.1(d) regarding existing litigation: City and County of San Francisco v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Pacific Gas and Electric Company as adverse party). No public comment was received. The Commission unanimously voted to assert attorney-client privilege and, after the closed session, voted unanimously not to disclose discussions.

Meeting adjourned.