Services of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
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 Ave
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-3155
sfpuc.gov
DATE: March 31, 2026
TO: Joshua Arce, President
Stephen E. Leveroni, Vice President
Avni Jamdar, Commissioner
Kate H. Stacy, Commissioner
Meghan Thurlow, Commissioner
THROUGH: Dennis J. Herrera, General Manager
Barbara Hale, Assistant General Manager, Power
Grace Kay, Acting Deputy Assistant General Manager, Power
FROM: Jamie Seidel
Manager, Distributed Energy Resources Projects, Power
SUBJECT: 2024 Municipal Energy Benchmarking Report
The Power Enterprise is pleased to present the 202 4 Municipal Energy Benchmarking Report.
In 2011, the San Francisco Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance1 was passed by the Board of Supervisors and signed by Mayor Edwin M. Lee requiring owners of non -residential buildings over 10,000 square feet to annually benchmark and disclose building energy performance. Leading by example, the City and County of San Francisco soon began to benchmark its municipal building energy use, becoming the first city on the West Coast to annually measure and publish building performance data.
The 202 4 reporting year continues to utilize the web -based interactive dashboard that has been used since the 2019 report to present the annual municipal energy use data. The dashboard provides high level trends and portfolio level summaries of energy use by fuel type, building type, and floor area, as well as emissions by fuel type. Additionally, building usage data is available at the individual building level, building type, or by City and County of San Francisco department.
1 San Francisco Environment Code, Chapter 20 (Existing Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance)
Overall, San Francisco’s municipal building energy use declined in 2024 for the first time since the 2020 pandemic. While total energy use remained slightly below pre-pandemic levels, reductions in natural gas and steam use across most facility types drove this decrease. From 2023 to 2024, electricity consumption rose by 2.7%, while natural gas and steam use fell by 6.9% and 14.3%, respectively. Looking ahead, energy demand in San Francisco is projected to increase across municipal loads as the city expands the electrification of buildings and transportation.
For more analysis and detailed information regarding the 2024 Municipal Energy Benchmarking Report, please see attached. Previous reports can be found at: Municipal Buildings Energy Benchmarking | SFPUC.
San Francisco Municipal Buildings
2024 Energy Benchmarking Report
January 2026
Power BI Desktop
02/04/2026Last Updated:
On behalf of City agencies, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) continues to benchmark approximately 500 municipal buildings annually. In collaboration with San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, SFPUC releases this dashboard to provide San Francisco’s agencies and the general public a better understanding of how municipal facilities perform and to identify buildings that would benefit from cost-effective energy efficiency investments.
This dashboard does not include energy usage information for non-municipal buildings, nor does it include data on the nearly 400,000 customers enrolled with the SFPUC’s CleanPowerSF program. For information about how municipal buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions compare to emissions from other sectors in San Francisco, check out San Francisco’s Climate Storyboard. The SFPUC began publishing building performance data in this interactive dashboard in 2019. Annual Reports from 2011 to 2023 are available in pdf format upon request via email to [email protected].
In 2011, the San Francisco Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance was passed by the Board of Supervisors and signed by Mayor Edwin M. Lee requiring owners of non-residential buildings over 10,000 square feet to annually benchmark and disclose building energy performance. Leading by example, the City and County of San Francisco soon began to benchmark its municipal building energy use, becoming the first city on the West Coast to annually measure and publish building performance data.
Overview
Spotlight: Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans Avenue (cover image) Opened in 2023, the Southeast Community Center in Bayview-Hunters Point earned LEED Gold certification in February 2024 for its high-performance, energy-efficient design. The all-electric building achieves 41% energy cost savings through continuous insulation, high-performance glazing, a cool roof, and smart shading, while ceiling fans and operable windows reduce mechanical demand. Rooftop solar, LED lighting, and ENERGY STAR® appliances further offset energy use, all managed by an advanced building system integrated with occupancy sensors, in real time. The facility showcases visible rainwater features and educational signage that highlight the City’s ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Glossary &
Acknowledgements
Energy Programs
and Projects
Data Sources
and Assumptions
Building Level
Data
Portfolio
Summary
Trends
Power BI Desktop
The graph above depicts the EUI and carbon intensity for municipal buildings where complete benchmarking data is available but excludes those for which we only have partial data. It also does not include San Francisco International Airport (SFO), as SFO is such a proportionally large gas and electricity user that its inclusion would obscure EUI and carbon intensity trends across all other municipal facilities. Water and wastewater treatment facilities are similarly excluded because their respective EUIs are disproportionate to square footage (the more appropriate measurement of EUI for this subset of facilities—energy use per volume of water processed—is not readily available to SFPUC Power). For 2024, San Francisco provides complete results for 490 City facilities and partial information for an additional four, available through the online dashboard.
Overall EUI across San Francisco’s municipal portfolio declined in 2024 for the first time since the 2020 pandemic. While total energy use remains slightly below pre-pandemic levels, reductions in natural gas and steam use across most facility types drove the decrease in EUI.
From 2023 to 2024, electricity consumption rose by 2.7%, while natural gas and steam use fell by 6.9% and
14.3%, respectively. These shifts in energy consumption contributed to a year-over-year decline in EUI of 2.6% and a 7.7% reduction in carbon intensity. Notably, a 6.9% reduction in natural gas consumption (mostly among office buildings and entertainment venues) was the primary contributor to the decrease in GHG emissions, given the more prevalent use of natural gas compared to steam. A small number of buildings receive electric service from PG&E or CleanPowerSF rather than Hetch Hetchy Power, but because this load is minimal (<0.7%) compared to the total electric load, it does not materially impact 2024 carbon emissions calculations.
Separately, the airport’s EUI decreased by 0.7%, and carbon intensity fell by 5.8%. This change reflects a modest 3.7% increase in electricity use offset by a more significant 5.8% reduction in natural gas consumption by the Airport Commission and its tenants compared to 2023.
Looking ahead, energy demand in San Francisco is projected to increase across municipal loads as the city expands the electrification of buildings and transportation. Nevertheless, the City remains committed to reducing the energy intensity and carbon footprint of its buildings. For more information on these initiatives, visit the Energy Programs and Projects page.
2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
79.5 63.6
82.1 57.2
64.5 65.3
68.468.1 67.3
73.1 64.1
75.2 67.066.3
60.2 78.8
5.7 3.9
6.0 3.2
3.8 4.4 4.3
4.9 4.3
5.3 4.0 4.24.1 4.2 4.4
5.6 Carbon Intensity
(lb CO2e/sq ft)
EUI
(kBtu/sq ft)
Carbon and Energy Use Intensity Trends
SFPUC Power tracks annual energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (expressed as energy use intensity (EUI) and carbon intensity) at each municipal facility.
Trends
Power BI Desktop
Energy Efficiency
The SFPUC has offered energy efficiency services to City departments for over thirty years. One such initiative, managed by the Power Enterprise’s Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Projects Group, is the General Fund Energy Efficiency Program which provides lighting and HVAC retrofits, and building retro-commissioning services to SFPUC General Fund customers.
Energy Programs and Projects
Sunset Health Center Goes All Electric
The SFPUC replaced the natural gas HVAC system at
the Sunset Health Center with all-electric heat
pumps to include two roof top unit heat pumps for
space heating and one heat pump water heater for
potable water heating. In compliance with San
Francisco's 2021 Climate Action Plan, this
electrification project was implemented through the
SFPUC’s building electrification pilot program to
decarbonize City buildings and mitigate local air
pollution.
SFPUC Northpoint Wet Weather Facility -
RePower Solar PV Project
The SFPUC completed the recommissioning of a 245
kWdc rooftop solar PV system at Northpoint Wet
Weather Facility, with construction services carried
out by SFPUC Utility Field Services personnel. The
Northpoint PV System was refurbished and
modernized with new solar panels and inverters. The
225 kW system was operational in early 2024 and is
expected to produce 32.6 MWh annually.
Climate Policy Promotes Building Electrification Leading to Net Zero Emissions In response to global climate change, San Francisco adopted the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions citywide by 2040 (San Francisco Environment Code Chapter 9, updated 2021). The path to achieving these goals were set forth in San Francisco’s 2021 Climate Action Plan. In support of this initiative, Power Enterprise’s DER Projects Group implemented building electrification pilot projects to facilitate the transition from natural gas-based heating to all-electric systems powered by SFPUC’s greenhouse gas-free Hetch Hetchy hydroelectricity.
Renewable Energy
The City and County of San Francisco is strongly committed to expanding the local use of renewable energy including solar photovoltaics (PV). The SFPUC DER Projects Group offers turnkey solar PV design and construction services to City Departments. In 2024, the SFPUC distributed power from 28 PV facilities with a total capacity of 8,300 kW of clean renewable energy.
Power BI Desktop
Energy Use by Fuel Type
Three sources of energy are used to power municipal buildings: Electricity, Natural Gas, and District Steam.
Every year there are certain buildings not fully benchmarked due to insufficient information. Energy usage from these buildings is not included in the overall figures, trends, and summary charts below but is visible on the Building-Level Data page online.
Emissions by Fuel Type
The vast majority of reported buildings receive 100% GHG-free electricity from SFPUC through Hetch Hetchy Power, with only 0.3% of total electric load supplied by PG&E or CleanPowerSF. As a result, electricity use is effectively emissions-free while natural gas use continues to drive and represent the largest share of municipal building GHG emissions.
Natural Gas 94%
Steam 6%
Electricity 55%
Natural Gas 43%
Steam 2%
Portfolio Summary
2024
2024
102,695
metric tons CO2e
4.22bnkBtu
Power BI Desktop
Airport 27%
Education 22%
All Other Use Types 15%
Offices 9%
6%
Hospitals 4%
4%
Public Safety 4%
Museums and Art 3%
Performance Halls 2%
Recreation Facilities 2%
Service, Repair, and Storage
Convention Center
Energy Use by Building Type
The energy consumption of a building is influenced by its use type and specific operational demands and not solely by its size. For example, hospitals comprise a relatively small portion of benchmarked square footage yet account for a disproportionately large share of total energy use due to their continuous operations and specialized functions.
Floor Area by Building
The following depicts a summary of floor area by building category. Every year there are certain buildings not fully benchmarked due to insufficient information. Energy usage from these buildings is not included in the overall figures, trends, and summary charts below, but is visible on the Building-Level Data page.
Airport 42%
Hospitals 11%
Education 10%
7%
Offices 6%
5%
4%
Public Safety 4%
4%
Convention Center 3%
Performance Halls 3%
Recreation Facilities 2%
Water and Wastewater Treatment
Service, Repair, and Storage
Museums and Art
All Other Use Types
47.7M
sq ft
4.22bn
kBtu
2024
2024
Portfolio Summary (Cont'd)
Power BI Desktop
Using Building-Level Data
Navigating the Interactive Table of Building-Level Data Energy benchmarking results are grouped by building type and provide key data points about each building, as well as the building's energy performance in a given calendar year. Below is a guide to using the online interactive table and buttons.
Use this search box to
type in and filter by a
specific building
name. The adjacent
eraser icon will clear
your selection.
Click on drop down
arrows to filter by
property type or
department. The
below measures and
table will react. The
adjacent eraser icon
will clear your
selection and the
table below will reset.
Six key measures that
are dynamic
according to drop
down boxes above or
selection in table
below. Click to download
comprehensive
dataset hosted on
Data SF.
Hover over a row to
reveal a tooltip that
displays more building
details.
Click anywhere to select a row
highlighting building information.
The above six key measures will
react.
Hover over each field
to reveal a description
for each column. Click
on the down arrow
available in each
column to sort the
data.
Power BI Desktop
Data Sources and Assumptions
Energy use data: Electricity, natural gas, and steam usage data is maintained in the SFPUC’s EnergyCAP platform, which also supports the calculation of EUI, Energy Star scores, and related performance metrics.
Electricity use at facilities served by Hetch Hetchy Power is based on SFPUC billing. For sites served by external providers, billing data is reported by the customer City department, the utility, or pulled from retail bills managed by SFPUC Power on behalf of City departments.
Building data: Square footage, year built, operating hours, and other facility data are used to benchmark buildings. Default operational values are applied by the EnergyCAP system to maintain completeness when actual data is unavailable. In 2011, the SFPUC and other City departments engaged in a verification process to verify building and operations data. Updates occur as new facilities are added, buildings are modified, or revisions are received from customers. Buildings with multiple space types are entered as such in the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager to ensure accurate EUI and Energy Star scores.
Civic Center steam loop: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the Department of Public Health Central Office receive steam from the Civic Center steam loop. Since individual usage data is unavailable for these properties, the unmetered portion of steam use, including distribution losses, is apportioned between the two buildings based on square footage, meaning actual consumption at these buildings is somewhat less than reported.
Carbon Emission Factors: More than 98% of buildings included in this report receive 100% GHG-free electricity from Hetch Hetchy Power. With only 0.3% of total electric load supplied by PG&E or CleanPowerSF, GHG intensity calculations are minimally impacted. Natural gas has an annual emissions factor of 11.7 lbs CO2e/therm (calculated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), whereas the emissions intensity of steam, provided by the City’s steam supplier, has fluctuated between 0.20 and 0.22 lbs CO2e/lb over the last several years. The value for reporting year 2024 is set at 0.22.
Energy Star Score: Energy Star scores gauge a building’s energy performance as compared to similar buildings nationwide. Because the scale is geared to commercial buildings, only municipal facilities that fall in eligible building categories can obtain a 1-100 score. A score of 50 represents the national median. Thus, a building with a score of 76 would indicate that it is performing better than 75% of other buildings in the same category.
Energy Use Intensity: Reported buildings are benchmarked based on on-site EUI, a measure of annual energy use per square foot of building area. In this report, EUI of water and wastewater treatment facilities are calculated in this way as well and not as the more appropriate measure of energy use per volume of water processed. Square footage of exterior parking area is excluded from facility EUI calculations but buildings that function primarily as (covered) parking garages, factor in their full square footage.
Uncertainties and Exceptions
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this dashboard is accurate and up-to-date, irreconcilable meter data and changes in building occupancy or primary use may skew respective results.
Power BI Desktop
Bn - billion
Btu - British thermal unit
CO2e - carbon dioxide equivalent
COVID-19 - coronavirus disease 2019
DERP -Distributed Energy Resources
Projects
EnergyCAP - utility bill management
software
Energy Star Portfolio Manager -
energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions tracking tool
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
EUI - Energy Use Intensity
EV - electric vehicle
GHG - greenhouse gas
HVAC - heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning
Glossary
Gathering the information necessary to complete this benchmarking report involved the time and expertise of numerous people at a number of different departments and agencies. Many thanks to all those whose hard work and continued care went into ensuring that this report is as complete and accurate as possible.
SFPUC Project Team:
Charlotte Coquia-Elmore
Dan Heffernan
Theresa Ballesteros
Jamie Seidel
Matthew Greco
SF Environment Project Team:
Barry Hooper
Joyce Oloresisimo-Arpon
Acknowledgements
k - thousand
kW - kilowatt
kWh - kilowatt hours
lb - pounds
LEED - Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design - most widely
used green building rating system in the
world
M - million
PG&E - Pacific Gas & Electric Company
PV - photovoltaic
SFO - San Francisco International Airport
SFPUC - San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission
sq ft - square feet
V - volt
Additional SFPUC Staff:
Angie Lee
Hina Dave
Jackie Randazzo
Benito Capuyan
Tran Nguyen
Jason Barcelon
Emily Rogers-Pharr
Extra-Departmental Contacts:
Amy Chan (SFUSD)
Amy Nagengast (SFO)
Courtney Carroux (SFO)
Darwin Dagandan (ADM)
Chris Burke (ADM)
Skylar Thor (ADM)