Orange County Power Authority Delays Councilmember Agran’s Request for Information
(Pictured above) The Orange County Power Authority meets on May 3, 2022.
On May 18, Councilmember Agran received a follow-up response 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 be solvent, 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?
On May 18, Cashel Carroll White, an attorney representing the Orange County Power Authority, wrote the following to Councilmember Agran related to the business customer notice,:
“OCPA previously sent responsive records. OCPA staff members have located additional responsive records for….’A record of all previous Public Records Act Requests filed…’ For the remaining items in your request, OCPA staff members are continuing to search for any existing responsive disclosable records. OCPA will notify you of the results of the search on or before June 24, 2022.”
OCPA has not been forthcoming on the following information from Councilmember Agran’s original Public Records Request for nearly 2 months:
The energy sources being procured for the Basic Choice, Smart Choice, and 100% Choice plans
The number of small, medium, and large commercial customers OCPA served on April 1, 2022
The source of business data OCPA used to assemble its customers
OCPA’s contingency plans in case more than 5% of residential customers and/or 10% of commercial customers opt out of its plans or opt “down” to the Basic Choice plan
Power Purchasing Agreements between Orange County Power Authority and other entities and the nature of those contracts
Any and all reserve funds OCPA has created to address contingencies and other risk factors
You can listen more to Councilmember Agran speak on the Orange County Power Authority via his latest podcast episode on “Conversations with Councilmember Larry Agran.”
The following comes from a prior article summarizing the public records request follow-ups from the Orange County Power Authority:
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 June 17.