Orange County’s green power agency might be making a comeback after Irvine officials decided to stay with the alternative energy provider — reversing a previous decision that could have pulled all Irvine’s accounts from the agency by the end of this year.
The agency known as the Orange County Power Authority was heavily criticized in previous years for lacking transparency, including a number of state audits that nearly caused the group to collapse.
Earlier this month, Irvine City Council members voted 5-2 to rescind their withdrawal from the power authority — meaning they’ll be staying with the energy provider for now.
Council members supported staying with the Power Authority in order to give residents the option to choose their own energy provider and help the city meet environmental goals.
Irvine customers will still have the option to go with Southern California Edison as their provider if they wish.
Mayor Larry Agran and Councilmember Mike Carroll voted against the withdrawal.
The move was brought forward by Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, an environmental advocate who argued being part of the power authority is crucial for the city to meet its climate goals.
She also said she thinks the power authority has improved.
“In December, I was concerned, along with the rest of the council, in OCPA’s communications and how much they reached out to Irvine and involved us,” she said at the Sept. 9 meeting. “Since then, I’ve been very pleased with improvements in OCPA in terms of my own experience.”
Tresder said the city’s climate action plan relies on Irvine being part of the power authority to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction target goals.
Irvine’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, which has been in the works since 2021, was published in draft form this month and is currently open for public comment until Oct. 3.
“Our [climate action plan] is structured around OCPA providing renewable energy for our residents,” she said. “If we withdraw from OCPA, our CAAP will be hamstrung.”
Many public speakers at the meeting asked the council to stay part of the power authority so residents can choose their energy provider instead of being forced to go with Southern California Edison.
“The future of Irvine is speaking to us and begging us to leave that option open for them,” Councilmember Melinda Lui said at the meeting. “We’re talking about the ability to choose — if you feel like paying SCE, pay for it.”
Irvine leaders founded and funded the power authority in 2020, but their relationship with the agency ever since has been touch and go.
Irvine City Council members have had more than half a dozen discussions over the past four years about leaving the agency, discussing bailing multiple times after a series of audits from county and state regulators found mismanagement and a lack of transparency in 2023.
[Read Is Orange County’s Power Authority on its Deathbed? ]
While power authority leaders once cautioned that leaving could cost the city millions of dollars, both the city of Huntington Beach and the county government pulled out without any fees.
Since then, agency leaders have implemented a series of transparency and operational changes, replacing most of the board members, firing their original CEO and convincing their remaining members to stay on board.
[Read What is the Future of the Orange County Power Authority? ]
But the agency has also faced a series of criticisms over its provision of clean power after it pushed most of its members off of the 100% renewable energy program when power prices shot up at the end of last year.
[Read OC Green Power Agency To Rollback Renewable Power As Prices Spike ]
Agran, who’s been a critic of the agency since its inception, said the power authority has disrespected Irvine from the start.
“Are we really doing something for ourselves and for the environment with OCPA?” Agran said at the Sept. 9 meeting. “It’s been five years, and the answer is no.”
Carroll, who was originally the head of the agency’s board, turned into one of the program’s most outspoken opponents after he stepped down and argued again to exit the agency.
“We’ve subsidized and carried this thing on behalf of the other participants too long,” Carroll said at the meeting.
Susan Sonne, OC Power Authority board chair, said the agency will work with Irvine officials.
“We are thrilled that the founding member of OCPA, the City of Irvine, has declared its intention to continue offering its residents and businesses a renewable energy choice,” Sonne said in a news release earlier this month.
“We look forward to continued engagement with our Irvine Board members, Vice Chair James Mai and Director William Go, as we work together to provide renewable energy at competitive rates and equitably reinvest to support sustainable communities.”
Beyond Irvine, other cities are eyeing joining the agency.
Fountain Valley residents are slated to become the power authority’s newest customers after council members voted in late 2024 to become a member. Service in Fountain Valley is expected to begin in late 2026.
While Buena Park and Fullerton are also members, officials in Stanton and Costa Mesa have discussed possibly joining, even before Irvine voted to stay.
[Read Stanton Eyes Joining Struggling Green Power Agency ]
Costa Mesa officials had a discussion about becoming a member earlier this month, voting 5-2 to draft an ordinance for the council to consider joining the power authority. It’s expected to appear in front of the council for discussion on Oct. 7.
Some speakers at that meeting voiced strong opposition to joining the power authority that’s had financial issues in the past.
“The City of Costa Mesa has a fiduciary duty to your residents to perform due diligence before entering into any agreement with OCPA,” Michelle Johnson, a former Irvine planning commissioner, told council members at the Sept. 2 meeting. “Please look out for your rate payers.”
Others called out the agency’s problematic past with the city of Irvine.
“Last December, Irvine concluded OCPA deliberately withheld and misrepresented information and failed to inform Irvine about significant decisions that could adversely affect Irvine,” another speaker said at the meeting. “This is a warning Costa Mesa should really heed.”
A majority of Costa Mesa council members support the item at their Sept. 2 meeting, but some expressed some hesitations about joining the agency, including concerns about affordability. Councilmembers Jeff Pettis and Mike Buley voted no.
OC Power Authority CEO Joe Mosca said conversations with Costa Mesa have been largely positive and residents will have the option to opt out if they don’t want to use the alternate energy provider.
“If they don’t believe that it’s a good choice for them, they have the option,” Mosca said in an interview. “It’s a choice.”
He also emphasized that affordability is key for the OC Power Authority (OCPA) and all Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs.
“OCPA is no different than any other CCA — it’s all about affordability,” he said. “How can we have our customers decrease the amount of energy they’re using and decrease the cost of their overall bill?”
Mosca said he’s optimistic about the agency’s future.
“I very much believe our future is bright and powered by clean energy,” he said. “More than ever, local solutions like Community Choice Aggregation and OCPA are needed. Having a not-for-profit like OCPA providing energy and providing people with choice and investing locally is such an incredible asset for any community.”
Irvine’s approval to remain with the Orange County Power Authority carries a few requirements.
The first requirement of the vote is for the agency to immediately begin paying back the city’s $7.5 million loan that was used to get the power authority started in the first place.
The second requirement is that all Irvine customers are to maintain the default “Basic Choice” tier if using the power authority to provide their energy.
The vote also directed Councilmember James Mai, who serves on the power authority’s board of directors, to negotiate two more items directly with the agency regarding board seats.
The OC Power Authority board of directors consists of elected officials from each community the agency serves.
Each city gets one member, except for Irvine, which has two. But after the agency repays Irvine’s loan, the city is expected to lose that second board seat.
Mai is expected to negotiate with the power authority to maintain Irvine’s two seats on the board even after the loan is repaid. He will also be negotiating to try to get Irvine a third seat if another city joins the power authority.
He said if the negotiations aren’t going well, he’ll bring it back for council discussion.
“If anyone thinks I’m going to let go of two seats for Irvine that easily — it’s not going to happen,” he said at the meeting. “I’m just being very transparent here. It’s part of this package here. I’m going to try and retain two seats for Irvine as much as possible.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org .
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