CleanPowerSF is a program of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), an enterprise department of the City and County of San Francisco.
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OUR MISSION: To provide our customers with high-quality, efficient and reliable water, power and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.
525 Golden Gate Avenue, 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
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[email protected]
Date: June 2, 2025
To: Commissioner Kate H. Stacy, President
Commissioner Joshua Arce, Vice President
Commissioner Avni Jamdar
Commissioner Steve Leveroni
Commissioner Meghan Thurlow
Through: Dennis J. Herrera, General Manager
Barbara Hale, Assistant General Manager, Power
Michael Hyams, Deputy AGM, CleanPowerSF and Power
Resources
From: Cheryl Taylor, Manager, CleanPowerSF Operations
Subject: CleanPowerSF Quarterly Update
_______________________________________________________________
This memorandum serves as the regular quarterly update to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC or Commission) on the Power Enterprise’s CleanPowerSF program.
This quarterly update focuses on the following topics:
1. Program Service Statistics and Enrollment Activities
2. Communications Activities
a) “Life is Better Electric” Webinar
b) CleanPowerSF Quarterly E-Newsletter
c) SuperGreen Prospective Product Content Label
d) Power Rates FY2026
e) Outreach and Engagement
3. Customer Programs Update
4. Energy Procurement and Planning Activities
5. Regulatory Compliance Highlights
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1. Program Service Statistics and Enrollment Activities CleanPowerSF continues to provide clean electricity generation services to San Francisco customers, serving about 386 ,000 active customer accounts as of May 2025. CleanPowerSF’s opt-out rate remains stable at approximately
4.75 percent of all enrolled accounts.
Figure 1: CleanPowerSF Enrollment, May 2025
Customer enrollment in SuperGreen, CleanPowerSF’s optional 100% renewable energy product, is currently at about 2.0 7% of active accounts, down slightly from 2. 08 percent since the previous quarterly report. In total, renewable energy sales to SuperGreen customers accounted for 16 percent of CleanPowerSF’s energy sales in calendar year 2024.
The SuperGreen Saver program is now enrolled with 1,617 accounts, an increase of approximately 600 enrolled accounts from last quarter . Staff projects that customers’ energy usage during the 2025 program year will remain within the maximum capacity of 2.3785 megawatts. For more information on the SuperGreen Saver program, see Section 3.a. below.
2. Communications Activities
CleanPowerSF continues to develop and offer programs that help customers manage their energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint, and align with City and state environmental goals. Below are some communications initiatives highlighting this work from the past quarter.
a) “Life is Better Electric” Webinar
On April 17, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) hosted a webinar titled “Life is Better Electric! ” The free, one- hour event highlighted the financial and health benefits of electrification and available incentive programs for San Francisco residents, including CleanPowerSF customers. San
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Francisco Department of the Environment staff Agustina Mogetta and Nik Kaestner spoke about the City’s Climate Action Plan , reminding participants that, amidst ongoing climate crises, San Francisco’s goal is to become a net zero carbon city by 2040. They discussed several ways to reduce reliance on natural gas, including installing solar panels, air -sourced heat pump water heaters, induction stove s, and heat pump clothes dryer s. Choosing electric vehicles (EVs) and installing home charger s are additional steps residents can take to lower their carbon footprints.
Dr. Bret Andrews, board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility , shared insights on the health impacts of continued natural gas use. Although San Francisco’s foggy air may appear clean, the San Jose -San Francisco- Oakland metropolitan area actually ranks as the sixth worst in the nation for annual particulate pollution.1
Daniel Young, Customer Programs Manager in SFPUC’s Power Enterprise, closed the webinar by describing programs and incentives offer ed through CleanPowerSF and Hetch Hetchy Power.
Over 50 participants joined the live webinar via Zoom. In addition to CleanPowerSF customers, participants included the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC); education institutions like the University of San Francisco; CCA representatives including San Jose Clean Energy and Silicon Valley Clean Energy; and more. To make all information available and accessible to monolingual communities, the event offered Cantonese and Spanish interpretation. Recorded versions of the webinar are available on YouTube:
1 American Lung Association. State of the Air 2025. American Lung Association, 2025.
Available at https://www.lung.org/research/sota/city-rankings/msas/san-jose-san- francisco-oakland-ca. Accessed May 15, 2025.
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• English: https://youtu.be/EqwrFuR-F4U?si=sQbkYVHXNxzJ_Kq_ • Cantonese: https://youtu.be/lwZMInN52iQ?si=l49FvF4CZh5OLs0E • Spanish: https://youtu.be/ArfEjoi0IJI?si=HLI7St6VRvMxd5Lf
Figure 1: Life is Better Electric webinar announcements in English, Cantonese and Spanish
b) CleanPowerSF Quarterly E-Newsletter
On April 14, CleanPowerSF sent its quarterly digital e-newsletter to approximately 250,000 residents and businesses throughout San Francisco.
The e- newsletter’s headline was that CleanPowerSF rates would not be increasing for customers effective July 1. The newsletter advertised the “Life is Better Electric !” webinar and recognized the highest performing businesses participating in CleanPowerSF’s Peak Day Partners program. The newsletter was translated into Cantonese, Spanish, and Filipino; in- language information continues to be among the most popular content for those that open and read the e-newsletter.
c) SuperGreen Prospective Product Content Label
SuperGreen is CleanPowerSF’s 100 percent renewable energy , Green- e certified product that meets various environmental and consumer -protection standards set by the Center for Resource Solutions. Green-e certification requires that we send SuperGreen customers the Prospective Product Content Label, a notice that outlines their projected energy mix for the current year by April 1.
This year as in prior years , the 2025 Prospective Product Content Label showed customers that their energy will be sourced entirely from solar and wind power. Customers received the label either via email or in the mail at the end of March.
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Figure 2: CleanPowerSF Prospective Product Content Label 2025
d) Power Rates for Fiscal Year 2025-26
On April 8 th, the Commission approved staff’s recommendation to maintain CleanPowerSF rates at their current level as approved in July 2024. The Commission conducts one rate review per year, providing ratepayers with stability and predictability. This means that CleanPowerSF’s current rates will stay in place until at least July 2026.
e) Outreach and Engagement
Staff members attended several community events across San Francisco, speaking to customers and students about clean energy, upgrading to SuperGreen, and electrification programs. Some of the events included:
• Climate Action Youth Summit at Yerba Buena Gardens
• University of San Francisco Earth Day Event
• EcoCenter’s 15th Anniversary and Earth Month Celebration at Heron’s Head Park
• SFPUC’s Social Impact Partnership program for nonprofits and school partners at the Southeast Community Center
• John O’Connell High School Spring Showcase
• Climate Action Plan workshop at the Southeast Community Center
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Figure 3: Climate Action Youth Summit at Yerba Buena Gardens
Figure 4: EcoCenter Anniversary and Earth Month Celebration at Heron’s Head Park
3. Customer Programs Update
CleanPowerSF continues to develop and offer programs that help customers manage their energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint, and align with City and state environmental goals. Below are some highlights from this past quarter.
a) SuperGreen Saver
CleanPowerSF’s SuperGreen Saver program provides 100 percent California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)-eligible renewable energy a t a 20 percent electric bill discount to qualifying low -income residential customers residing in state -defined Disadvantaged Communities (DACs). To offer the 20 percent bill discount, SuperGreen Saver is subsidized by CPUC- approved public-purpose program funds, collected on all CleanPowerSF customer bills.
As of May 2025, there are 1, 617 SuperGreen Saver program customers, an increase of approximately 600 since the last CleanPowerSF quarterly update to the Commission reported in February 2025. During this quarter, CleanPowerSF offered enrollment to eligible customers to fill the expanded program capacity approved by the CPUC. Enrollment prioritiz ed low-income customers participating in the Arrearage Management Program. SuperGreen Saver Program capacity is 2.3785 megawatts.
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b) Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot (Real Time Pricing Pilot)
CleanPowerSF filed advice letter 36-E at the California PUC indicating its participation in PG&E’s Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot (also known as HFP or the Real Time Pricing Pilot) on February 27, 2025. This pilot enables eligible customers t hat enroll to participate risk-free in a program which tracks their hourly usage against “real-time” electricity prices, which reflect the hourly variation in electricity costs due to changes in grid and market conditions. The pilot is open to residential and commercial customers on eligible rates.2 Customers that participate in the pilot will be billed on their normal rate each month. In addition, they will receive a separate monthly performance report and will be eligible to receive bill credits valued at the real -time price of electricity if they shift their usage away from peak hours based on their historical electricity usage pattern. Over the course of a year, if a customer shifts their usage from high-priced periods to low-priced periods, they will receive a bill credit valued at the difference. If the customer doesn’t shift their usage from high to low -priced periods, they won’t pay any more than what they paid using their normal rate.
Customers enroll in the program through PG&E, but can access information about the pilot and how to enroll through the CleanPowerSF website at https://www.cleanpowersf.org/hourly-flex-pricing
.
c) A ll-Electric Multifamily Program
The All -Electric Multifamily Program helps owners/owner representatives of multifamily affordable housing buildings understand what it would take to transition their building’s natural gas systems and appliances to electric -based systems. This free program is available on a first -come, first-served basis and offers eligible applicants a building electrification audit, an electrification plan, recommendations on available financial incentives, and technical support, as shown in the image below. The program began accepting applications from Hetch Hetchy Power customers in November 2023 and is currently undergoing development to expand eligibility to multifamily affordable housing served by CleanPowerSF later this year.
Figure 5: All-Electric Multifamily Program Process
2 Rates eligible for the Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot include E-ELEC, EV2A, B6, B10, B19,and B20.
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How the Program Works
Once a customer submits the application and is enrolled into the program, the program team works with the customer to gather information on the building to prepare for a one-day site visit. During the visit, existing natural gas equipment and electrical infrastructure are identified, as well as any potential energy efficiency and electric load- reducing measures . T he constructability of replacing existing natural gas equipment with currently available electrical equipment is also evaluated.
After site -specific electrification strategies are developed and building energy analysis is complete, the program presents the results, which includes high level energy savings and cost estimates, along with a detailed electrification report and a roadmap document summarizing the findings. A list of currently available programs and incentives are also identified for the customer. The All- Electric Multifamily Program has provided this service to five sites that receive Hetch Hetchy Power service totaling approximately 700,000 square feet of affordable housing and counting. Staff has received positive feedback from program participants to date.
Figure 6: Photos of existing natural gas equipment from a recent site visit.
The above photos were taken at a recent electrification audit conducted for a Hetch Hetchy Power program participant and depicts the types of natural gas equipment commonly found in multifamily affordable housing: central space heating boilers, central domestic hot water heaters, and natural gas dryers. The program team identified two sets of prospective solutions for whole- building electrification of this site, including consideration of the site’s existing electrical service capacity and expected capacity needs for each whole- building electrification pathway.
This type of analysis and planning is critical to helping our customers meet ambitious electrification targets over the coming years, and we are excited to soon be able to support our CleanPowerSF- served multifamily affordable housing sites through this new program.
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d) Water Heater Upgrade Program (Coming Soon)
While our previous Heat Pump Water Heater Contractor Incentive Program has now sunsetted, CleanPowerSF is close to starting a new residential electrification program offering. This new program will be titled “Water Heater Upgrade” and is focused on increasing consumer awareness and driving organic adoption of heat pump water heaters throughout San Francisco by directly rewarding customers with a multi -year series of $50- per-month bill credits for making the switch to a heat pump water heater. All residential CleanPowerSF customers will be eligible for two years of credits ; low-income customers enrolled in either California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or Family Electric Rate Assistance Program ( FERA) will be eligible for an additional year of credits.
Aside from the financial benefits of the bill credits themselves, the program will educate San Franciscans about the benefits of electrification and help navigate customers through different phases of their conversion such as (1) finding an experienced installer, (2) reducing the installation cost through the multiple incentive programs and tax credits, (3) understanding permitting requirements in San Francisco, (4) finding the optimal electric rate, and (5) enrolling in a daily load shift program.
The program is expected to begin taking applications this summer. e) Peak Day Partners
Peak Day Partners is a voluntary demand response program that incentivizes large commercial customers to reduce their electricity consumption between 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM on “Event Days” in the summer and fall during high temperatures when the grid is expected to be strained. As in previous years, the program will begin in July and run through the end of October. In 2024, the program saw a record number of Event Days -- 15, which was three more than the 12 days originally allotted for the program . Three additional Event Days were added mid-season due to excessively high temperatures. For the 2025 season, staff are evaluating an increase in the threshold temperature to trigger Event Days.
4. Energy Procurement and Planning Activities
a) Status of Renewable Energy & Storage Solicitations
CleanPowerSF is actively soliciting renewable energy from new and existing projects. Last summer, the SFPUC released a Request for Offers (PRO.0280) for renewable energy, renewable energy paired with storage, standalone storage, and long- duration storage to help meet our local and state long -term renewable energy goals and targets. Proposals were due by August 21, 2024. 3 3 More information about the PRO.0280 solicitation may be found at:
https://sfbid.sfwater.org/opportunity/details/?cid=280. Accessed on May 7, 2025.
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Shortlisted projects w ere posted in October 2024 to sfbid.org. Staff is negotiating contracts and expect agreements to be finalized over the next several months.
b) Changes in Energy Markets
Current macroeconomic forces have the potential to reshap e c lean energy markets. Staff monitors tariffs, tax credits and other macro- economic factors that may affect our procurement costs. The recent combination of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and proposed changes to federal clean energy tax credits could result in significant changes to the cost of new energy storage projects beginning as early as next year. Many renewable energy developers are taking a “wait -and-see” approach in anticipation of future possible stability within the next several months.
Tariff Impacts on Energy Markets
In April 2025, the Trump Administration imposed trade tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners. The 145% universal tariff imposed on April 9 th on imports from China, a 10-fold increase from those previously in effect , were reduced to 30 percent for the next 90 days on May 12 th. However, the U.S.
Court of International Trade has since struck down the across-the-board 10% tariffs as well as blocked a separate set of tariffs imposed on China, ruling that the administration exceeded its legal authority in imposing them. 4 The Administration appealed this decision, yielding continued uncertainty about the future of U.S. trade policy . The abrupt and erratic nature of the trade tariffs campaign initially contributed to market volatility, with U.S. equity markets declining due to concerns over economic stability. Following the court’s ruling, markets have rebounded. However, the long-term impact remains uncertain as legal challenges continue.
Most renewable energy resource developers rely on supply chains with channels for key components from China. Batteries are currently the only major clean technology sector where imports are predominantly sourced from China. As a result, the effects of tariffs on batteries are expected to be much more significant compared to other technologies. Bloomberg News recently estimated a 58 percent increase in the cost to install a battery energy storage system (BESS) in the U.S.5
Clean Energy Tax Credits
The United States House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee has advanced a revised reconciliation package that proposes sweeping changes to the clean energy tax credits established under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. In this latest draft, the proposal accelerates the phaseout of key renewable energy incentives . Only projects that meet a tighter construction threshold—by beginning construction within 60 days of enactment and being placed in service by December 31, 2028 —will continue to receive full credits .
4 Wilkie, Christina, et al. "Court of International Trade Strikes Down Trump's Tariffs." CNBC, May 29, 2025.
5 Kikuma, Isshu. “Trump’s 104% China Tariffs Send Battery Cost Back to 2023: React.” Bloomberg News, April 9, 2025.
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Projects that fall outside this window will see their credit values begin to decline as early as December 31, 2025 and, for some technologies, phase out entirely as soon as 2031. The proposal also eliminates transferability provisions two years post -enactment and introduces additional restrictions for foreign- influenced entities, reflecting a broader effort to recalibrate renewable energy policy amid shifting fiscal priorities. The bill now awaits further deliberation and amendment in the Senate.
Other notable provisions are:
• The elimination of electric vehicle tax credits and hydrogen production credits after 2025;
• Stricter foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions, would deny tax credits to projects and taxpayers that use equipment or critical minerals from, or have ties to, companies in certain designated countries; and • A shift in tax credit qualification from "start of construction" to "placed in service", altering the timeline for project financing.
Industry analysts express concerns over the far -reaching consequences of these adjustments, noting potential challenges to clean energy development in the U.S. While the bill retains certain elements such as domestic content and energy community adders, its overall impact on clean energy investment and innovation would be a setback for the sector.
The bill reconciliation process is expected to unfold over the coming months, with further adjustments likely as it moves through House and Senate committees ahead of a final vote.
5. Regulatory Proceedings
a) Power Charge Indifference Adjustment Rulemaking
The Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) is a surcharge that customers taking generation supply from direct access providers and community choice aggregators like CleanPowerSF must pay to PG&E. The fee is intended to recover the unavoidable above -market costs associated with power contracts PG&E entered into on these customers’ behalf prior to them switching from PG&E’s generation supply service. In theory, by collecting such above-market costs, the PCIA keeps PG&E’s remaining generation service customers “indifferent” to the departure of other customers to third -party generation suppliers, like CleanPowerSF.
CleanPowerSF’s competitiveness with PG&E’s retail service is measured, in part, by comparing CleanPowerSF’s cost of generation supply plus the PCIA rate against PG&E’s retail service generation rates. H igher PCIA rates could make CleanPowerSF less competitive relative to PG&E , possibly resulting in less revenue for CleanPowerSF to procure energy and deliver programs to customers.
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PG&E’s PCIA rates are set annually by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) . In early 2025, due to recent volatility in California’s energy markets, the CPUC initiated a new proceeding considering modifications to the methodology used to develop PCIA rates for all three of California’s investor -owned utilities , including PG&E . The proceeding is advancing in two separate tracks. The first track, focused on which data and time periods the CPUC would use to calculate PCIA rates, will likely conclude in the middle of 2025 and will impact PCIA rates set for 2026. The second track, meant as a more holistic review of the PCIA rate setting methodology, will continue for up to two years.
The SFPUC’s Power Enterprise Regulatory and Legislative Affairs team is engaged in and representing the interests of CleanPowerSF in this proceeding.
In close coordination with the California Community Choice Association, Staff is focused on ensuring that the proceeding does not result in inappropriate cost shifts to CleanPowerSF customers through unfair PCIA rates.