San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting - July 14, 2026
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Meeting - July 14, 2026
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) held its regular meeting on July 14, 2026, at 9:30 AM. The meeting included a land acknowledgment, approval of prior minutes, public comment, a disclosure training presentation, approval of consent calendar items (with one corrected), a presentation on the selection process for a new General Manager, approval of a revocable license with South San Francisco, authorization of a Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan, adoption of Clean Power SF's 2026 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), contract awards for Hetch Hetchy technical services, a maintenance agreement with Caltrans, a duration contingency increase for a sewer replacement contract, and closed session items. All voting items passed unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Items 6B through 6E: Approved unanimously. These routine items were not individually discussed.
- Item 6A: Originally listed with an award amount of $17 million, but staff corrected the amount to $13,702,280 for pre-construction services only. The Commission amended the resolution and approved the corrected amount unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- General Public Comment (Item 4):
- Mr. DeCosta expressed concerns about management at the water department, alleging refusal to provide documentation and improper handling of confined space safety. He warned of potential federal action (RICO Act) if issues are not addressed.
- Alita Dupree (Team Folds) expressed support for municipalization of the electrical grid to increase public input and urged completion of a power line from Newark, California, to bring more clean energy to San Francisco.
- Disclosure Training (Item 5a): A public commenter (same as earlier? The speaker criticized the bond process, linking ratepayer money to bonds, and suggested distributing informational pamphlets with water bills.
- General Manager Search (Item 7): One public commenter emphasized the need for an engineer as General Manager, criticizing reliance on consultants and expressing concern about the selection process.
- Clean Power SF IRP (Item 10): Alita Dupree spoke again, supporting the 100% renewable portfolio and urging continued leadership in renewable energy, including storage and regional collaboration.
Discussion Items
- Disclosure Training (Item 5a): Presented by bond counsel (Sean Yates, Devin Brennan) and financial advisors. The training covered commissioners' responsibilities under federal securities laws regarding the Preliminary Official Statement (POS) for revenue bonds. Key points: materiality standard, need for a culture of transparency, and importance of accurate disclosure to maintain market reputation. Commissioners expressed appreciation for the thorough presentation.
- General Manager Selection Process (Item 7): Sean Sherburn (SF Department of Human Resources) presented the timeline and process for selecting a new General Manager. The Commission will provide at least three names to the Mayor. An executive search firm will be selected from a pre-qualified pool of 11 firms. Discussion centered on timing: the next regular meeting is July 28, followed by a recess until September 8. The Commission debated whether to delegate selection of the search firm to DHR and the Commission President to expedite the process, or to have a special meeting in August. Commissioners Jamdar and Leveroni expressed interest in seeing an analysis of the top firms. Commissioner Stacy suggested a closed session update on July 28. The matter was left open for further discussion at the next meeting.
- Revocable License with South San Francisco (Item 8): Rosanna Russell (Real Estate Director) presented a no-fee, nine-year revocable license for 5.89 acres of SFPUC land for a public recreational path and linear park. The license requires South San Francisco to maintain the entire property, save the PUC over $100,000/year in maintenance, remove problematic trees, and include improved indemnity and signage. Commissioner Stacy noted the clarification of responsibilities.
- Clean Water SRF Loan (Item 9): Alexandra Gannell (Loans and Grants Director) requested authorization for a $50 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan (plus $5 million grant) for the Lower Alemany Stormwater Improvement Project, with a not-to-exceed amount of $60 million including capitalized interest. The loan is at an estimated 2.3% interest over 30 years. The project also may seek a WIFIA loan from EPA. Discussion covered reimbursement timelines and use of commercial paper for short-term financing.
- Clean Power SF 2026 Integrated Resource Plan (Item 10): Sarasa Vasene (Power Resources) presented the staff recommendation to adopt the 100% renewable portfolio as the preferred conforming portfolio for CPUC compliance. The portfolio calls for 1,220 MW of new resources (solar, battery storage, geothermal, wind) at an average cost of $91.66/MWh, compared to 24-32% higher costs for time-coincidence portfolios. The 100% renewable portfolio achieves 88.5% time coincidence by 2035 based on Clean Power SF's own demand forecast. Commissioners discussed the trade-off between cost and time coincidence, and the ability to pursue higher time coincidence in procurement outside the IRP. The portfolio was approved unanimously.
- Hetch Hetchy Technical Services Contracts (Item 11): Cheryl Sperry (Business Services Manager) requested approval of four contracts (total $80 million, $20 million each, 5-year duration) with Stantec, Jacobs Engineering, AECOM, and Lee Incorporated for specialized operations and maintenance support. The contracts replace prior contracts with $11 million remaining. The Commission noted the careful tracking of expenditures across old and new contracts.
- Caltrans Maintenance Agreement (Item 12): Joel Prater (AGM Wastewater) presented a no-cost maintenance agreement with Caltrans for ongoing maintenance at two pump stations (Cesar Chavez and Merlin Morris) after security upgrades. Unanimously approved.
- Duration Contingency Increase (Item 13): Aileen Kelau (Project Manager) requested approval of a 545-day increase in duration contingency for the sewer replacement contract WW709R in North Beach and Marina districts, to address unforeseen site conditions. Unanimously approved.
Key Outcomes
- All voting items passed unanimously: Items 3 (minutes), 6B-E (consent), 6A (amended consent), 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 17 (assert attorney-client privilege) all received 5-0 votes.
- General Manager Search Process: The Commission will continue discussions at the July 28 meeting, with potential for a closed session update. The timeline for selecting a search firm remains open, with a possible special meeting in August if needed.
- Clean Power SF IRP: The 100% renewable portfolio was adopted and will be submitted to the CPUC by August 10, 2026.
- Commissioner Initiated Item: Commissioner Stacy requested a future discussion on the Water Enterprise Environmental Stewardship Policy 20-year report.
Meeting Transcript
Afternoon. Today's meeting of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will now come to order. Can we please call roll? President Arce. Here. Vice President Leveroni. Here. Commissioner Jandar. Here. Commissioner Stacey. Here. Commissioner Thurlow. Here. You have a quorum. Thank you, Ms. Near. Before calling 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 ethnohistoric territory of the Moekma Alone tribe and other familial descendants of the historic federally recognized Mission San Jose Verona Band of Alameda County. The SAPC also recognizes that every citizen residing within the Greater Bay Area has and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of the Moekalone tribes 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 Moquema Allone 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 approval of the minutes of June 23rd, 2026. Thank you, Ms. Nair. Colleagues, are there any corrections to the minutes of June 23, 2026? Seeing none, can we take public comment? Remote callers, please raise your hand if you wish to provide comment on item number three. Are there any members of the public present who wish to comment? Seeing none, Moderator, are there any callers who have their hand raised? Mr. Mayor, there is no callers that wish to be recognized. Thank you. Can we get a motion and second to approve the minutes of June 23, 2026? Motion to approve. Motion from Vice President Leverone. Second. The second from Commissioner Stacey. President Arceus. Aye. Vice President Leveroni. Aye. Commissioner Jamdar. Aye. Commissioner Stacey? Aye. Commissioner Thurlow. Aye. Item three passes item four. General public comment. Members of the public may address the Commission on matters that are within the Commission's jurisdiction and are not on today's agenda. Members present who wish to speak are encouraged to complete and submit to the Director of Commission Affairs a speaker's card located on the table to the left of the public gallery seating area. Please note that members are called to the podium to speak in the same order that cards are received.
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