San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting – November 14, 2023
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting – November 14, 2023
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) met on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 9:30 AM. The meeting included a land acknowledgment, approval of prior minutes, reports from the General Manager on policy and government affairs and the 2023 power revenue bond sale, a consent calendar with several items, a discussion and vote on a settlement with PG&E, communications, and commissioner-initiated items. The meeting also included a closed session for legal counsel.
Consent Calendar
- Item 6a: Award Job Order Contract No. JOC-102R for general engineering construction in Hetch Hetchy counties.
- Item 6b: Award Job Order Contract No. JOC-103 for general engineering construction in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties.
- Item 6c: Amend Contract No. PRO.0105 with Century Urban LLC to extend the contract duration by three years, seven months, and two weeks. Pulled for discussion; approved after clarification.
- Item 6d: Award Contracts Nos. PRO.0281.A-C for as-needed project management support services. Pulled for discussion; approved after discussion on internal capacity.
- Item 6e: Approve an increase of $2,000,000 to the contract cost contingency and 956 calendar days to the contract duration. Pulled for discussion; approved after explanation of project completion status.
- Item 6f: Approve an increase of $119,000 to the contract cost contingency for Contract No. WD-2851(I) at 525 Golden Gate Avenue.
- Item 6g: Award Contract No. WD-2874 for water main replacement on Joost Avenue.
- Item 6h: Award Contract No. WD-2902 for San Andreas Reservoir Road Improvements to Anvil Builders Inc. All consent calendar items were approved unanimously (5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
No members of the public provided comment during any public comment period.
Discussion Items
- Annual Policy and Government Affairs Update (Item 5a): Emily Lamb presented the update. The team secured approval for 27 local legislative items, handled over 100 constituent requests, and led a successful statewide coalition for an extension of the state’s arrears payment program, releasing an additional $600 million statewide. SFPUC expects $22 million from this round, plus $16 million previously. At the federal level, the agency opposes proposed cuts to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) from $2.5 billion to under $100 million annually. Commissioner Ajami requested that the commission be informed when SFPUC’s association members take positions that conflict with San Francisco values.
- Results of 2023 Power Revenue Bond Sale (Item 5b): Nikolai Sklarov reported that after commission approval on September 20, 2023, the bonds were marketed and priced on September 27, closing on October 12. The bonds had a 3.3 times subscription rate, producing a true interest cost of 4.56%. The issuance of $123.9 million in bonds yielded $131 million in proceeds, used to defease $117.7 million in commercial paper. This was the largest issuance year in SFPUC history. Commissioner Jami questioned why the power bonds were not designated as green bonds; staff explained they are self-certified but moving toward external certification due to SEC concerns.
- Settlement with PG&E (Item 7): Barbara Hale presented a settlement to resolve a 2019 FERC complaint regarding PG&E’s refusal to provide secondary voltage service to city customers. The settlement allows SFPUC to connect 30 megawatts of metered customers at secondary voltage for existing Hetch Hetchy customers, city departments, and related public entities. In exchange, the city will dismiss the complaint and waive monetary damages. Commissioners expressed frustration with PG&E’s practices but acknowledged the settlement provides certainty. The settlement was approved unanimously (5-0).
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved all items (6a-6h) with a 5-0 vote, after pulling items 6c, 6d, and 6e for discussion.
- Item 7 Settlement: Approved unanimously (5-0) to authorize the settlement with PG&E and take it to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
- Closed Session Announcement: After closed session, the commission announced they are not recommending approval of the settlements in items 12 (Walt Sheps claim, $36,837) and 13 (undetermined claimants from September 11, 2023 water main break). Item 14 was pulled from the closed session calendar.
- Commissioner Initiatives: Commissioner Maxwell requested an analysis of the correlation between staff vacancies (over 600 positions down) and contracting out. Commissioner Ajami advocated for a comprehensive asset mapping system for the city. No formal action was taken.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, so we'll call the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission meeting to order. Um I do want to note also that um that the clock is 15 minutes off, and apparently at about two o'clock on the way the clock is right now, it's gonna automatically change to the correct time. I've been told. So in case everybody's wondering what's going on or if they fell asleep, uh that's you know, there's something that's gonna happen magically, apparently. So could we have the roll call, please? President Paulson here. Vice President Rivera. Here. Commissioner Jamy. Commissioner Maxwell? Commissioner Stacey? Here. Okay, I would like to announce that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission acknowledges that it owns and are stewards of the unceded lands located within the ethnohistoric territory of the Moequa Allone tribe and other familiar descendants of the historically federally recognized Mission San Jose Verona Band of Olimita County. The SFPUC also recognizes that every citizen residing within the Greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and the occupation of the Moequa Alone tribe's aboriginal lands since before and after the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's founding in 1932. It is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the tribal lands on which we reside, but also we acknowledge and honor the fact that the Maweka Ohlone people have established a working partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and our productive and flourishing members with the many greater San Francisco Bay Area communities today. So first item, please. Item number three, approval of the minutes of October 24th, 2023. Are there any corrections or to these minutes? Seeing none, um, we will open public comment. Do we have any members of the public president to provide comment on item number three? See none. Public comment on item three is closed. Okay, can I um entertain a motion and second to approve the minutes of October 24th? Move to approve. Moved and second. Can we have a roll call, please? President Paulson. Aye. Vice President Rivera. Aye. Commissioner Maxwell? Commissioner Jamy. Aye. Commissioner Stacy? Aye. Five eyes. Okay, next uh item is general public comment. Item number four is general public comment. Members of the public may address the commission with items, uh comment on items that are not on today's agenda. Seeing we have no members of the public present to provide general public comment. Item four is closed. Okay, so we will have the report of the general manager. Discussion. Thank you, Mr. President. Um item 5A is an annual policy and government uh affairs update. Emily Lamb will be presenting. Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is Emily Lamb, and I am the Deputy Assistant General Manager for External Affairs, providing you the uh annual policy and government affairs update. So the policy and government affairs team works with staff across the agency to advance SFPUC's policies and legislative agenda.
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