Councilmember Agran Receives Updates to His OCPA Public Records Requests
On April 4 and April 18, Councilmember Agran received two responses to his request (sent 03/24/22) for public records from the Orange County Power Authority. Larry has questioned this City-funded agency’s ability to operate solvently, asking:
What is the number of small, medium, and large commercial customers OCPA has begun serving on April 1, 2022?
What Power Purchasing Agreements (i.e. contracts) has Orange County Power Authority made with other entities?
What are the reserve funds OCPA has created to address contingencies and other risk factors?
Councilmember Agran sent the Orange County Power Authority a Public Records Request (PRR) to learn how OCPA used its public funds before it launched operations on April 1.
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”), any member of the public has the right to access information concerning “the conduct of the people’s business” (Government Code Section 6250 et. seq.).
On April 4, an attorney representing OCPA asked for an additional 14-day extension on Councilmember Agran’s request — PRR’s have a standard 10-day time period of response.
On April 18, the attorney wrote the following to Councilmember Agran:
OCPA could share “a number of responsive records” to public records requests filed by other individuals. Requests were filed by representatives of Voice of OC, Irvine Watchdog, and members of the public. See the full list of records here.*
OCPA could share a copy of a notice sent to business customers. You can view the notice they shared here.
OCPA would search for any other records it could disclose and respond with the results of the search on or before May 18.
Councilmember Agran will continue to seek public records of OCPA and share any response(s) he receives. He has called on the City to exercise its right to an audit of the entity to safeguard Irvine’s resources and secure clean electricity.
“As OCPA launches service for its commercial customers, I want to seek transparency on the communication and community education OCPA must manage as a fledgling entity.”
*The link to the Public Records Requests will be available and downloadable now through May 18.