October is best known for pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween festivities, like pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and scary costumes. But did you know that this month also celebrates Public Power Week?
Every year, during the first full week of October, public power utilities across the country celebrate Public Power Week to highlight the benefits of community-owned electricity providers, such as lower rates, better service reliability, cleaner energy, and more community oversight. It’s during this time that we take a moment to celebrate the impact and work of San Francisco’s public power utility: Hetch Hetchy Power.
Through Hetch Hetchy Power, the SFPUC has been providing San Francisco with 100% greenhouse gas-free energy for more than 100 years. Hetch Hetchy Power is proud to serve more than 4,000 customer accounts, including municipal facilities like public libraries, Zuckerberg General Hospital, and San Francisco International Airport, as well as public and affordable housing sites and an increasing number of new developments like the Salesforce Transit Center.
In addition, SFPUC’s Power Enterprise also operates CleanPowerSF, the City’s community choice energy program, which serves more than 380,000 residents and businesses. Taken together, Hetch Hetchy Power and CleanPowerSF serve 70% of the electricity demand in San Francisco.
From the new Southeast Family Health Center powered by Hetch Hetchy Power to Excelsior Coffee being serviced by CleanPowerSF, our programs are designed to serve the needs of our local community. As a not-for-profit electricity provider, the SFPUC is not beholden to paying shareholder profits. Instead, we reinvest our revenues back into the services and programs that help support our customers while accelerating a clean energy future to protect the health and well-being of the next generation.
That’s why this week, we’re celebrating Hetch Hetchy Power and all public power utilities across the United States! Public power thrives because we are staffed with hardworking employees who care about the community and take pride in serving our family, friends and neighbors in San Francisco.
Join us and follow the #PublicPowerWeek conversation on our social channels.
You can also learn more about public power from the American Public Power Association (APPA) or read about how we are working to expand public power in San Francisco.