The embattled Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) continues to rush ahead with plans to begin residential electricity service in Irvine on October 1st, even as questions about the agency’s viability remain unanswered.
This year, all electricity customers in Irvine (residential and business) are being transferred from their current provider — Southern California Edison (SCE) — and automatically enrolled in a new OCPA electricity plan at a higher monthly rate.
As Irvine Community News & Views has reported, a Grand Jury investigation into OCPA revealed the following: OCPA is being led by a political insider with zero experience in the energy sector; OCPA bylaws and policies to promote transparency have not been properly implemented; there has been a lack of oversight of contractors with not enough checks and balances in place; and OCPA lacks the in-house staff to develop and implement strategic plans to mitigate economic risks.
Shortly before the Grand Jury report was released to the public, California regulators fined OCPA nearly $2 million for not purchasing enough electricity to avoid blackouts.
Since taking office, Councilmember Larry Agran has been the only member of the Irvine City Council to raise red flags about OCPA, questioning the agency’s inexperienced leadership and lack of transparency. (OCPA has refused to release even basic financial and accounting documents to the City of Irvine, even though Irvine taxpayers are funding the agency through 2022.)
Agran’s Council colleagues spent nearly a year blocking his repeated requests for a public discussion and audit of OCPA. Unwilling to be silenced, Agran began using his 3-minutes of “Announcements” during each Council meeting to update the community on what appears to be mounting evidence of corruption at the Power Authority.
Agran has also questioned the City’s decision to automatically force people into the new, more costly OCPA plan, saying: “It may be legal, but to have automatically enrolled every Irvine resident into a new, more expensive electricity plan without a vote of the people was flat-out wrong!”
To opt-out of OCPA by phone, follow these steps:
- Have your SCE bill with you. (You will need your SCE account number.)
- Call (866) 262-7693 and select “4” to opt-out.
- Select “2” to continue opting-out.
- Enter your SCE account number followed by the pound sign (#).
- Enter your zip code followed by the pound sign (#).
- Hang up after receiving confirmation you have opted-out.
You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the webpage where you will see an opt-out form (located along the right side of the page).
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