Three years ago, the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) became our City’s electricity provider — promising Irvine customers greener electricity at lower monthly rates. OCPA also promised to create green programs to boost our local economy. None of those promises have been kept!
Broken Promise #1: Greener Electricity
The State of California mandates annual “Power Content Labels” from agencies that procure energy in our state. The labels include detailed information on all energy sources — including the mix of renewable and non-renewable sources and the intensity of associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
During the November 12th Irvine City Council meeting, it was revealed that OCPA has been purchasing dirtier energy than SCE for two of the agency’s three energy tiers — including the “Basic Choice” tier in which Irvine ratepayers are enrolled. About 75% of OCPA’s Basic Choice electricity tier is derived from fossil fuels, and as a result, each megawatt hour of OCPA’s Basic Choice electricity produces the equivalent of 942 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. By contrast, only 43% of SCE’s Default Rate electricity tier is derived from fossil fuels, which means that each megawatt hour of SCE’s Default Rate electricity produces the equivalent of 515 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, OCPA’s Basic Choice electricity tier is nearly twice as dirty as SCE’s standard electricity tier.
Broken Promise #2: Lower Monthly Rates
For two years, OCPA charged Irvine customers the highest monthly electricity rates in all of Orange County!
Last December, Mayor Larry Agran — who continues to call for Irvine to exit OCPA — was able to provide Irvine ratepayers financial relief by winning Council support to downgrade the City’s electricity customers to OCPA’s lowest price energy tier. With prices still too high and a significant rate increase by OCPA coming in January, Mayor Agran introduced a motion at the September 9th Council meeting to force OCPA to freeze its rates through 2026. Councilmember Mike Carroll supported Agran’s motion.
However, the Mayor’s motion didn’t pass because Councilmembers Kathleen Treseder, William Go, James Mai, Melinda Liu and Betty Martinez Franco voted NO. Their refusal to freeze rates for the next year means that OCPA will begin charging Irvine customers significantly more in January.
You would think that with the worsening economy, these five Councilmembers would be looking for ways to help our residents and businesses instead of voting to prop-up OCPA, which posted a $15 million operating loss for 2025 and is expected to lose another $30 million in 2026.
Broken Promise #3: Establishing Green Programs
OCPA’s promise to boost the local economy through the establishment of green programs (and green jobs) never materialized.
Promises made, promises broken. Isn’t it time for Irvine to pull the plug on OCPA? Even though the City hasn’t withdrawn from OCPA, individual household and business customers can. In fact, nearly 30% of our City’s ratepayers have already opted-out of OCPA and enrolled in SCE’s greener electricity plans. You can too by clicking here or calling (866) 262-7693. (You will need to have your account number handy.)
- Publisher’s Perspective: OCPA Continues to Break Its Promises - November 16, 2025
- Irvine City Council Votes to Stick with OCPA - October 12, 2025
- Our Remarkable, Award-Winning Planned Community - September 16, 2025
