San Francisco Pushing to Create it's own 100% Renewable Utility Service and Drop PG&E

San Francisco city officials are looking into the possibility of creating their own utility out of the wreckage of PG&E who filed bankruptcy in January. The city would either buy the electrical lines from PG&E or seize them through eminent domain. If this works PG&E’s system would be the backbone of a push for a new 100% renewable full-service municipal utility. “We need to take advantage of this opportunity, because the crisis of climate change is a crisis,” San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen said during a hearing. “We really need to take it to the next level, and that next level is a complete build out so that we are providing 100 percent renewable energy to all of our customers.”

More wind and solar farms would be need to be built in the surrounding areas to supply San Francisco with green power which would also create good jobs. “If we want to be truly independent in providing energy, clean energy to the residents of San Francisco, we need to really think about a local version of a Green New Deal,” Supervisor Sandra Fewer said at the same January hearing. “And that is really about building our own resources for renewable energy on our own land.” San Francisco leaders are also talking about how a utility service offered by the city would prioritize safety, quality, and affordability over profit. “When profit is the ultimate motive, then public safety comes second, then reliability comes second, then keeping costs down comes second,” Ronen said. “Profit will not be our ultimate goal.”