In 2022, Irvine electricity customers were transferred from the City’s previous provider, Southern California Edison (SCE), and automatically enrolled in the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).
For the next few years, members of the OCPA board — including Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, who serves as Irvine’s representative on the OCPA board — falsely told our City’s electricity customers they were paying lower monthly rates. Councilmember Treseder and others quoted the price for OCPA’s lowest-priced plan (Basic Choice) even though Irvine ratepayers had been enrolled in OCPA’s most expensive plan (100% Renewable), resulting in higher monthly rates.
In 2025, the City Council voted to change the default tier for Irvine ratepayers to OCPA’s least expensive plan, Basic Choice.
However, OCPA continues to charge Irvine customers higher rates than SCE:
Rate comparison from data published on OCPA’s website
OCPA has also 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 now enrolled.
All public utility companies are mandated by the State of California to publish an annual Power Content Label that details the energy sources used to generate electricity for consumers.
The most recent Power Content Label for OCPA (published in October 2025) shows that about 75% of its Basic Choice electricity tier is derived from “primarily fossil fuels,” which means that 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 primarily fossil fuels, which means that each megawatt hour of SCE’s Default Rate electricity produces the equivalent of 515 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Based on data published in the state-mandated Power Content Labels, OCPA’s Basic Choice electricity tier is nearly twice as dirty as SCE’s default electricity tier.
OCPA Power Content Label
SCE Power Content Label
Nearly 30% of our City’s ratepayers have already opted-out of OCPA and enrolled in SCE’s cheaper & greener electricity plans. You can opt-out of OCPA by clicking here or calling 866-262-7693. (You will need to have your account number handy.)
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