OC Power Authority’s Half-Step Toward Transparency
On April 16, 2021, Irvine Watchdog reported transparency concerns with the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA). Meeting videos were not provided on the City of Irvine’s OCPA website as of January 12, 2021. In response to requests from members of the public and Mayor Farrah Khan, Director Mike Carroll announced at the June 9, 2021 OCPA meeting that “starting today and going forward, we will be recording our Board meetings of the OCPA and providing them on our website [OCPower.org].” The OCPA will also be upgrading their website in the months to come.
While we should be thankful for this step toward increased transparency, all previous meeting videos from December 16, 2020 – May 11, 2021 are missing and were not addressed. These were foundational meetings discussing salaries, CEO/COO hiring, funding, and recruitment of participating cities. Keeping the entire contents of these meetings private prevents the public from examining the manner in which these decisions were made.
4 Comments
DougElliott
June 12, 2021 at 11:48 amCarroll’s statement begs the question of whether or not the previous meetings were, if fact, recorded. If so, the recordings are public records. Has a Public Records Act request been filed?
Branda Lin
June 12, 2021 at 12:25 pmGreat question, Doug. We need to find out if the prior meetings were recorded. But why would they record the first 3 meetings, then stop? How does one file a public records request for the Power Authority? Do we go through the City of Irvine’s PRR site? Here’s their email: [email protected]
deefox
June 12, 2021 at 2:16 pmThe Residents and Businesses in Irvine and Cities that have joined the Orange County Power Authority, need to pay ATTENTION! You are all going to be AUTOMATICALLY removed from Southern California Edison (SCE) and enrolled in this new Community Choice Energy (CCE) program, also known as Community Choice Aggregator (CCA).
Irvine Council Member, MIKE CARROLL, and Irvine Mayor, FARRAH KHAN are spearheading this program and neither have the experience to run this type of program. Mike Carroll does however, have experience in using tax dollars for his own personal benefit and Farrah Khan has experience in covering it up. And this program is all about using our tax dollars to create a whole new bureaucracy that allow city council members to profit. That’s all it is, and common sense tells you this.
All you have to do is understand the process. SCE still provides transmission, distribution, and customer billing services that are paid for by us through this new program. The rate we pay for our energy is decided by the Board members of this CCE, which include Mike Carroll and Farrah Khan and these fees are on top of the SCE fees mentioned above. If you think you will be getting “greener” energy, helping the environment, and all that, think again. For reasons that will be explained further, just know that if your neighbor “opts out” of this CCE, they will still be getting the same exact energy that you receive and are paying more for, substantially more. Why? Because distribution of our energy comes from SCE’s grid. And unless you have a dedicated line to you from SCE, we ALL receive the same mix of energy. If you want to guarantee receiving 100% green energy, then you need to cut your line with SCE and invest in Solar Panels. But you will not be told this. You will be sold on the fact of receiving greener energy and helping our environment. But that isn’t even true because you have no way of knowing that what these Board members are purchasing is even green energy. You are told to “trust” them.
What this CCE does is something known as “green washing”. It’s a paper trading scheme, known as Renewable Energy Certificates or REC’s. These CCE’s purchase inexpensive energy from a windfarm or an industrial solar farm that is not actually from wind or solar. It purchases cheap gas-fired power and delivers that to SCE and reports the REC to governing agencies as green because it came from a wind or solar farm. And greenhouse gas emissions are not decreasing, as the agency claims, but actually increasing because CCE’s are adding to the demand for gas-fired power plants. The more REC’s it buys, the more demand it creates for gas-fired power and the more emissions it produces.
CCE’s offer nothing to consumers except higher rates. Rates under a CCE are not regulated by a government agency. The rates are set by the CCE’s Board of Directors, which is comprised of local city council members. And who’s to keep the CCE’s from paying their directors and consultants outlandish salaries and benefits? We already know that the CCO of Irvine’s CCE is getting over $200,000 a year, not including car allowance, cell phone, health benefits, retirement plan, severance package, sick pay, paid vacations, etc. All this for a non-profit organization paid for by taxpayers! Irvine residents are being slapped twice for the startup costs for this CCE through their monthly rate and then by the City using tax funds to loan to this CCE.
Energy is a long-term business. Procurement contracts are non-cancellable and can span 30-40 years into the future. Cities that join CCA’s are on the hook for large, long-term financial obligations. When things turn south, and they eventually will, member cities are stuck because they cannot afford to exit the program. Marin Clean Energy had outstanding non-cancelable power purchase commitments of approximately a billion dollars. Marin Clean Energy has actually cost consumers more while providing energy that is less clean than their local utility company was providing. The primary beneficiaries of this CCE, which has 22 employees, is the directors and consultants of the organization that are bilking taxpayers out of millions of dollars a year. By the time customers realize this they will be locked in for at least six months before they can go back to their utility company.
The Joint Powers Authority membership document includes language that enables a CCE to invoke eminent domain within a member jurisdiction’s boundaries, so cities that join JPAs may not even realize they are “giving away their sovereignty.” If there’s an empty field, the CCE can assert eminent domain and install a solar farm. Similarly, the CCE can invoke eminent domain and erect windmills. These are very real issues, given that CCAs claim they want to construct local renewables.
The Board members on Irvine’s CCE remain on the Board even if they are not re-elected on their city council. So now we have unelected Board members making decisions about our open space! That should scare the heck out of everyone!
Branda Lin
June 14, 2021 at 9:38 amI was so focused on the meeting videos I neglected to mention, NONE of the meeting Minutes have been provided. All decisions made, especially when it comes to using our tax dollars, must be transparent. Providing Minutes and meeting videos are the bare minimum the Power Authority should be providing.
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