The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission convened on January 23, 2026, for a comprehensive budget hearing focused on the Power Enterprise, including Hetch Hetchy Power and Clean Power SF programs.
President Arce opened the meeting with roll call, confirming a quorum with all commissioners present. The Commission acknowledged the unceded lands of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe and recognized the working partnership established with the SFPUC since its founding in 1932.
Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale presented the Power Enterprise budget, serving approximately 388,000 retail customer accounts with 75% of San Francisco's electricity. The enterprise operates two distinct programs:
Customer Programs ($6.8 million increase):
Strategic Analysis:
Engineering and Field Operations:
Customer Programs:
Capital Plan Management ($1.4 million):
Energy Data Systems:
Customer Support:
The Power Enterprise achieved a significant $204 million reduction in the two-year capital budget compared to prior plans, limiting rate pressure while maintaining essential investments. The total 10-year capital plan for Power is $2.2 billion of the SFPUC's total $12.6 billion plan.
Spear Street Substation:
Large Load Substation One:
Bay Corridor Transmission Distribution (BCTD) Backup Loop ($233 million over 10 years):
West Side Substation:
Grid Connections:
Redevelopment Projects:
SFO Substation:
Carbon-Free Steam Project:
Public Power Expansion ($24 million increase over 10 years):
The Power Enterprise budget directly supports San Francisco's Climate Action Plan through:
Energy Supply:
Buildings (Zero Emission Goal):
Transportation (100% Zero Emission Vehicle Goal):
PG&E Grid Acquisition Benefits:
Francisco DaCosta addressed the Commission regarding a blackout incident in 2002 near Napoleon Street, emphasizing the need for SFPUC accountability and transparency. He noted that SFPUC was responsible for a power outage that lasted eight hours and occurred twice, and mentioned ongoing litigation between PG&E and SFPUC.
The Commission thanked AGM Hale and the Power Enterprise team, including Chi Ao, Michael Himes, Catherine Spaulding, Pam Husing, and the supporting staff of Michael Clark, Emily Wang, and Cody Hicks for their comprehensive presentation and ongoing work delivering clean, affordable energy to San Francisco.
Good afternoon. Today's meeting of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will now come to order. Ms. Zanir, can we begin with roll call please? President Arce. Here. Vice President Leverroni. Here. Commissioner Jamdar. Here. Commissioner Thurlow. Here. You have a quorum. All right. Thank you, Ms. Zanir. Can we please call the next item? Actually, before we do, I do want to make sure that before we call the next item or the first item, 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 ethno-historic territory of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe and other familiar descendants of the historic federally recognized Mission San Jose Verona Band of Alameda County. The SFPUC also recognizes that every citizen residing within the greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of the Muekma Ohlone 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 Muekma Ohlone people have established a working partnership with the SFPUC and are productive and flourishing members within the many greater San Francisco Bay Area communities today. Item three, public hearing and discussion, Hetch Hetchy Power and Clean Power SF Enterprise, Budget and Capital Plan. All right. Thank you, Ms. Lanier. Do we have any discussion, comments, questions from the Commission on this item? I don't... What's that? Oh, I jumped right to the discussion. Looking forward to the presentation. Thank you, Ms. Hale. You threw me one for a minute there. Thank you, Commissioners. Barbara Hale, Assistant General Manager for Power. I'm here to present the Power Enterprise Budget. For your consideration, I'm going to first provide some context by introducing the team, our programs, and the revenue they bring in, our cost drivers, our priorities for this budget cycle, including climate action plan elements. With that context, then we will get into the budget particulars, operating, then capital, the rates projected to support the budgets, and then closing out. That's about 32 slides. I propose to pause for questions as we go and ask for questions or comments as I transition from topic to topic. So with that, may I have the slides, please? Away we go. So the power team is organized into five groups, each led by a deputy manager. They're here today to hear your guidance and feedback and assist with any questions, so