Opinion

Power madness by S.F. Supervisors ON THE S.F. SUPERVISORS

Barring a late change of mind, San Francisco is taking on a daunting challenge. Next year, some residents will be enrolled - unless they object - in premium-priced renewable power under a plan underwritten by City Hall. It's a first step toward a bigger goal of operating a citywide power system.

The proposal to push the city toward clean and green electricity is attractive. It's also risky and flavored with group-think politics. At present, the city is served by its Hetch Hetchy power system for public buildings and projects. Residential and business customers buy their juice from Pacific Gas & Electric.

Much would change if the CleanPowerSF proposal is approved on a required second vote by the Board of Supervisors, which approved it on first reading Tuesday. The 8-to-3 vote at the board is enough to overcome a possible veto by Mayor Ed Lee, who is cool to the project.

His skepticism is well founded. The city will need to put up $19 million to get the project running. Also, half of the city's residents will be drafted automatically as customers, paying an average of $18 per month more for the 100 percent renewable power provided by the single bidder for the plan, Shell Energy. Residents who don't want to pay more will have to opt out or they'll be stuck at the higher rate.

There's nothing wrong with offering renewable power in a city that prides itself on its environmental record. Were it offered alongside PG&E's electrons, the renewable alternative probably would create a stampede.

But the details of this deal - a single bidder, city subsidies and automatic sign-up - aren't fair or sensible. There's the added factor of the road ahead. The renewable backers plainly want more than the green label. If the plan gets rolling, San Francisco residents should prepare for an even bigger challenge: taking over PG&E operations.

It's an idea that has lost repeatedly at the polls and comes burdened with even bigger costs, legal risks and customer uncertainty. Supervisors should rethink their misguided support for the clean power plan and flip the switch on a bad idea.