Supervisor Asks Mayor Lee For Clean Energy Birthday Wish, Lee Declines
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — CleanPowerSF, the stalled public power program created to launch alternative energy to compete with PG&E, will not be making a return appearance anytime soon in San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee said at Tuesday's Question Time with the Board of Supervisors.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) scrubbed CleanPowerSF last August and since then public power activists have been trying to bring it back.
Supervisor John Avalos, thinking it would make a good gift on his 50th birthday, asked Mayor Ed Lee during the monthly Q&A session.
"And as a present to the 87 percent of San Franciscans who believe that global warning is happening, would you commit to launch CleanPowerSF this year," he asked.
Supervisor Asks Mayor Lee For Clean Energy Birthday Wish, Lee Declines
Lee said he would not grant his birthday wish because the program was not good for the city.
"We should not move forward with program that contracts with a fossil fuel company in Texas, forces San Francisco residents to pay more for electricity. It doesn't produce direct local jobs or enough environmental benefits," Lee said.
Lee said the SFPUC must focus on clean water for residents during the drought and electricity for city facilities.
