Legal Timeline
Milestones from the Eight Years of Methodical Preparation for CCA in San Francisco:
1999 - San Francisco first requested the opportunity to implement Community Choice in the form of a Community Choice San Francisco (CCSF) resolution.
2001 - Environmental policy group Local Power drafted a state bill which was sponsored by California Assembly Member Carole Migden
2001 - SF Supervisor Ammiano sponsored Proposition H - a charter amendment granting authority to the Board of Supervisors to issue H bonds for the installation of renewable energy and conservation facilities. This 'solar bond' authority was approved by voters in November 2001, becoming Section 9.107.8 of the Charter.
2002 - Local Power's Community Choice law became state law in AB117/Migden.
2003-5 - CCSF successful participation in CCA rulemaking at the CPUC
2004 - Supervisor Ammiano sponsored an "Energy Independence" ordinance, also known as the Community Choice ordinance, which combined the AB117 aggregate purchasing authority with the H Bond authority so that power contract revenues could repay H Bond investments. The ordinance (86-04) unanimously passed 10-0 and was signed by Mayor Newsom on May 27, 2004 - thereby setting the 360 Megawatt green power development as a bidding requirement and ordering the preparation of an Implementation Plan and Request for Proposals (RFP) to the energy industry.
2004 - A Community Choice Aggregation Task Force was created for San Francisco - including experts in energy efficiency, environmental justice, business, and energy purchasing.
2005 - Local Power and the City and County of San Francisco actively participated in the California Public Utilities Commission's regulatory proceeding to create rules and procedures for AB117. Starting in the Spring of 2005, until the Summer of 2006, Local Power submitted an Implementation Plan to the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) submitted another draft.
2005 - LAFCO also commissioned a study by independent law firm Nixon Peabody to review Local Power's proposed use of H Bonds. The report concludes that they are "extremely synergistic" and makes a third party implementation body legally denfensable. It also confirms that it will provide the renewable energy, energy efficiency resources and financial mechanism to "provide CCA with a secure base of resources with which to serve its customers and, thus, avoid excessive dependence on a volatile energy market."
December 2005 - Local Power and the SFPUC submitted a matrix of agreements to the Board of Supervisors.
April 2006 - Local Power and the SFPUC began finalizing the Implementation Plan sponsored by Sup. Ammiano for submission to the Board of Supervisors. The City Attorney is preparing an ordinance to adopt the plan and create the implementing entity, and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is sponsoring a statement of intent to the CPUC.
May 2006 - Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed $5 million to fund CCA planning. In particular, the funds are to be used to complete the pre-implementation steps: a Request for Information (RFI) and a Request for Proposals (PFP) that the City will issue to energy companies and then evaluate the proposals.
April 10, 2007 - Implementation Plan for CCA officially introduced to Board of Supervisors
May, 2007 - Board of Supervisors expected to make final vote to adopt the Implementation Plan for a San Francisco CCA
Fall 2007 - Board of Supervisors reviews green energy bids and awards contracts.