Irvine City Council majority decided to continue participation in Orange County Power Authority at the May 23 council meeting. Meanwhile, the Huntington Beach council majority voted to leave on May 16 to take effect in July 2024.

Upcoming debates are expected in June as both Fullerton and Buena Park councils meet to consider staying in or leaving OCPA. The actions follow numerous recent positive changes the agency made in response to negative audits.

Those reforms include replacing the controversial CEO Brian Probolsky, hiring critical staff, appointing a secretary, improved transparency, a new marketing strategy, and RFPs for current career opportunities. The new Interim Joe Mosca has good credentials and experience with other Community Choice Energy agencies. Recruitment for a permanent CEO continues.

As reported by voiceofoc.org, Irvine Councilmember and OCPA Board member Kathleen Treseder said, “We’ve already seen great progress reforming the agency. We’ve made something like 90% of the reforms suggested by all the audits. So we’re on a good track.”

Currently, the OCPA Basic rate for electricity is 2% lower than SoCal Edison’s Basic rate. OCPA pays homeowners with solar panels an Net Surplus Compensation rate 10% higher than SCE. The next OCPA Board meeting is Wed., June 21. Visit the OCPA website, ocpower.org, for more information.