COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

September 15, 2003

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 23, 2003

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Neil R. Cullen, Department of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Letter of Support for Grant Applications for Peninsula Power Savers

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board to sign a letter supporting the City and County of San Francisco's grant application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for a program to bring energy efficiency to small businesses in the City and County of San Francisco and in San Mateo County.

Key Facts

1.

The northern section of San Mateo County and the City and County of San Francisco is considered by the CPUC as a power transmission constrained area (TCA), as the power demand on the transmission facilities serving this area is approaching the facilities' maximum transmission capabilities.

2.

Retrofitting businesses with energy efficient lighting is one way of reducing the electrical demand in the TCA.

3.

San Francisco has successfully managed an energy saving program (Power Savers) that was financed by a CPUC grant and which helped approximately 4,000 small businesses in San Francisco to retrofit their lighting fixtures.

4.

The CPUC is again offering grants for energy saving programs.

5.

San Francisco has requested that the County partner with them for a grant to provide energy savings for small businesses in San Francisco and San Mateo County that are primarily located in the TCA.

Discussion

San Francisco has successfully managed a 7.8 Million Dollar grant from the CPUC for their Power Savers program that helped approximately 4,000 small businesses retrofit their lighting and reduce the electrical demand on the transmission system by six megawatts. (Six megawatts is equivalent to the amount generated by a solar array 26 times the size of the County's Crime Lab's solar panels.)

Staff of the City and County of San Francisco's Department of the Environment contacted the Department of Public Works and has requested that the County partner with San Francisco on the next round of grant funding from the CPUC to expand the Power Savers program to small businesses in San Mateo County. Reducing the energy demand in Northern San Mateo County benefits both Counties as it reduces the load on the transmission facilities in this TCA.

The program - proposed to be called Peninsula Power Savers - would build upon San Francisco's previous program and would focus on providing small businesses with the technical and financial assistance to retrofit their lighting at a reduced cost. The program does fill a need as small businesses do not have access to the larger energy efficiency programs that focus on larger office buildings or office complexes. Several cities in the county have expressed interest in having the program in their jurisdiction when they were approached by San Francisco, but do not have the staff resources to dedicate to the program.

The grant application for Peninsula Power Savers will be made by San Francisco and the grant, if received, will be administered by the San Francisco Department of the Environment's Energy Efficiency Program. The grant request is for seven million dollars with the goal of retrofitting 4,000 businesses - 3,200 in San Mateo County and 800 in San Francisco - and to reduce energy demand by 6 Megawatts. Included in the grant is sufficient funding to pay for the additional staffing that would be required during the period of the grant, as well as any for other administrative and marketing costs.

The County's role will be to coordinate with the cities, market the program, and oversee the program within the County. County Public Works staff will work closely with San Francisco on monitoring the grant and managing the program to ensure that it is successful.

Fiscal Impact

We are posing that if your Board agrees to partner with San Francisco, and if the grant is received, that an appropriation be established in the Solid Waste Fund to accrue the County's day to day costs of the program. We are proposing the Solid Waste Fund as we believe the Power Savers Program can be integrated into the Recycle Works Website and Hot Line that are financed through the Solid Waste Fund. The web site and hot line currently provide information that can be used by small businesses to help them recycle.

The Solid Waste Fund would be reimbursed from grant proceeds and therefore, there is no net impact to the Solid Waste Fund or any other fund of the County.

A form of resolution has been approved by County Counsel.