A new effort that focuses on local residents upgrading to 100 percent renewable energy in their homes has kicked off. Public Power Week is a reminder that small changes can add up to something big – if more people pitch in and work together, they have the ability to make a real impact on combating climate change.

To celebrate national Public Power Week and Energy Awareness Month, the SFPUC is asking local workers to participate in the Clean Energy Employee Challenge, a focused effort to encourage employees to upgrade to 100 percent renewable energy plans for their homes.

Lead by CleanPowerSF, the Clean Energy Employee Challenge is a regional campaign among Bay Area Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs that will focus on employees at companies that are already enrolled in a 100 percent renewable energy option. The challenge is also an opportunity for participating companies to share their sustainability stories, generate friendly competition, and foster workforce pride.

The SFPUC launched CleanPowerSF in 2016 with a mission to provide San Francisco residents and businesses with the choice of having their electricity supplied from clean, renewable sources at competitive rates. There are two enrollment options for customers—Green service, which is comprised of 48 percent renewable energy sources—and the SuperGreen service, which is 100 percent renewable energy, and costs a few extra dollars more a month.

Following the largest and last enrollment period in April of this year, CleanPowerSF now serves more than 376,000 customers in San Francisco, a 360 percent increase from the year prior. With a 96 percent participation rate, the program is popular among businesses and residents.

Along with CleanPowerSF, the SFPUC operates the Hetch Hetchy Regional Power System, which provides 100 percent greenhouse gas free energy to public facilities, such as City Hall, San Francisco International Airport, Muni buses, schools and libraries. Collectively, the two programs meet approximately 80 percent of the electricity demand in San Francisco.

Cities across the country are joining San Francisco in recognizing Public Power Week, which runs from October 6 – 12. On average, public power costs significantly less and is more dependable, according to the California Municipal Utilities Association. About one in four Californians receive their power from more than 40 publicly owned utilities such as the SFPUC. Nationwide, there are more than 2,000 community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities nationwide that collectively provide electricity to 49 million Americans, according to the CMUA.