Left in the Dark: The Unforgivable Neglect of Treasure Island by SFPUC and TIDA Director Robert Beck
Ladies and Gentlemen of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Treasure Island Development Authority,
https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/who-we-are/executive-management
https://www.sf.gov/information/treasure-island-development-authority-staff
Let’s not waste time with pleasantries. We are here because of failure—your failure. And it’s high time we call it exactly what it is. Treasure Island is drowning in darkness—figuratively and literally—and you are holding the matches.
Over 18 power outages a year on average . That’s the shameful average this community has endured for decades. Eighteen outages a year—a rate four times worse than the rest of San Francisco itself. Do you understand the weight of that statistic? That is not infrastructure; that is neglect. That is not oversight; that is abandonment. And abandonment is exactly what you’ve done to the people of Treasure Island.
Let me paint the picture for you—because clearly, you haven’t taken the time to see it yourself. A single mom sitting in a pitch-black apartment, praying her child’s insulin doesn’t spoil in the powerless fridge. A family scraping together every penny to survive, only to lose it all when they have to replace spoiled groceries. Elderly residents sitting in cold, dark rooms, their lifelines—medical devices—rendered useless. Children trying to learn in homes without light, without heat. Is that the San Francisco you’re proud of? Is that the progress you stand for?
You’ve promised. Oh, how you’ve promised. Back in 2019, TIDA said an upgrade was coming that would solve it all. “We’d be shocked,” you said, “if there were more than five outages the next year.” Since the upgrade in July 2021, there have been a staggering 63 outages as of 01-09—2025.
This repeated failure highlights the ongoing issues despite promises of improvement. The work, initially scheduled for completion in 2020, faced repeated delays before finally concluding in mid-2021, yet the problems persist:
2021: 20 outages
2023: 19 outages
2024: 23 outages
2025 (so far): 1 outage
The consistent pattern of outages demonstrates how little the upgrade has delivered on its promises.
Let me ask you this: do you ever lie awake at night thinking about the people you’ve failed? Because they lie awake at night—literally—when their homes are plunged into darkness. They can’t ignore it, so why should you? Every flicker, every blackout, every outage is a slap in the face to the residents who trusted you to care, trusted you to do better. You failed them.
You have hidden behind bureaucracy for too long. You’ve deflected, delayed, dodged responsibility. But let me remind you of something: your inaction is not neutral. It is active harm. Every time you failed to fix the grid, every time you delayed critical upgrades, you made a choice. A choice to let people suffer. A choice to let families shiver in the dark. A choice to uphold inequity. And every single one of those choices is on you.
You want the truth? What’s happening on Treasure Island isn’t just an infrastructure problem—it’s a moral failure. A community of 3,000 people has been treated like an afterthought, like collateral damage in your web of incompetence. And for what? Convenience? Complacency? Cost savings? How do you justify that? How do you live with yourselves?
You are the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. You are the Treasure Island Development Authority. Those names carry responsibility, accountability, and power. But what good is your power if it doesn’t keep the lights on? What good are your titles if you let an entire community rot under your watch?
I demand action, not excuses. Declare a state of emergency for Treasure Island. Bring in experts who will actually fix the system, and appoint people to your boards who will not rest until this community has the reliable power it has been denied for far too long. The time for apologies is over. The time for promises is over. This is your chance to prove you care about more than your titles and your budgets.
Treasure Island deserves better, and you know it. So, no more delays. No more negligence. Fix this, or step aside and let someone with the will and the conscience to do the job take over. Because right now, your legacy is darkness.
And that, my friends, is an unforgivable disgrace.