Called “peakers,” because they are meant to be used only when demand is high, these power plants utilize 15-year old fossil-fuel technology. What’s more, City officials cannot guarantee that they will be used only at peak times. The fact is, the California Energy Commission approval for the project said the three plants would run every day, although each was limited to running 4,000 hours per year. By this arithmetic, these plants are allowed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

City officials also claim these new plants will make it possible to close the gas-burning Mirant Power Plant currently operating on Potrero Hill – but that was months ago and they have failed to finalize an agreement to make that happen.