Media Toolkit

A San Francisco Success Story

Delivering PUBLIC POWER FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has provided clean, safe, and reliable electricity for more than 100 years—supplying more than 75% of the power consumed today in San Francisco. The city’s public power utility, Hetch Hetchy Power, generates and delivers 100% greenhouse gas free power to energize the City’s major infrastructure, public buildings, and more. Our community choice energy program, CleanPowerSF, provides clean, affordable, reliable power to more than 385,000 residential and commercial customers in San Francisco.

THE NEXT STEP: EXPANDING PUBLIC POWER IN SAN FRANCISCO

The SFPUC has earned San Franciscans’ trust and confidence—consistently delivering safe, reliable, high-quality utility services. But there is still one major obstacle to providing public power to everyone in San Francisco: PG&E, the investor-owned utility that controls the city’s local electric grid—a company with a long track record of putting profits over the public good.

After decades of frustration with PG&E delays, rising costs, and financial mismanagement, San Francisco submitted an offer in 2019 to purchase the local grid for $2.5 billion. When PG&E refused, saying the price was too low, the City petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission in 2021 for an independent assessment of the grid’s fair-market value. With that process continuing, the City is conducting environmental reviews to prepare for a purchase of the assets from PG&E.

THE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC POWER: WHAT SAN FRANCISCANS GET FROM DROPPING PG&E

  • More Affordable: As a not-for-profit public utility, San Francisco doesn’t pay shareholder dividends, corporate taxes, or executive bonuses. We reinvest revenues back into the system and have access to lower-cost financing, reducing ratepayer costs. On average, public power utilities across the United States offer more affordable rates than investor-owned utilities.

  • More Reliable: We will prioritize battery storage, renewables, and undergrounding to build a stronger, more climate-resilient, and modern power infrastructure.

  • More Accountable: We answer to the local community, not Wall Street. Public power means local oversight of utility operations and investments. The money to acquire PG&E’s grid would not come from the City’s budget or taxes. It would be paid over time through electric rates.

PUBLIC POWER BY THE NUMBERS

  • SFPUC customers saved more than $170 million in 2023 alone on electric bills compared to what they would have paid PG&E.

  • There are more than 2,000 public power utilities across the country, serving more than 50 million people. In California, there are more than 40 public power utilities, which together meet about 25% of the state’s electricity load.

  • San Francisco would see the benefits of public power with no impact to tax dollars for City priorities like public safety and affordable housing.

  • 78% of San Franciscans say they support acquiring PG&E’s local electric assets and expanding public power.

THE SHIFT TO PUBLIC POWER: BACKGROUND

PUBLIC POWER IN THE NEWS

The rising cost of staying with PG&E:

PG&E project delays keep piling up, blocking public services:

KEY DOCUMENTS

San Francisco’s original $2.5 billion offer to acquire PG&E’s local electrical grid (2019)

City’s petition to the CPUC asking for an independent appraisal of the grid’s value (2021)

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about San Francisco’s transition to public power

PUBLIC POWER WORKS — AND HAS BEEN EMBRACED ACROSS CALIFORNIA.

For more information on the public power utilities operating across the state—including the cities of Los Angeles, Sacramento, and smaller municipalities like Alameda, Palo Alto, Riverside, and Anaheim:

For more information: publicpowersf.org | Press inquiries: communications@sfwater.org