OCPA Leaves Public Records Requests Unanswered in Response
On June 24, Councilmember Agran received an additional letter from counsel for the Orange County Power Authority. In it, OCPA limited its answers to the responses it has given other public records requests.
On April 4, April 18, and May 18, the Orange County Power Authority also provided limited information about its activities. This lack of response leaves open questions:
How many businesses of each customer type was OCPA serving when it first launched? How many are being served today, and from which cities?
How has OCPA planned to address risk contingencies in the energy market, minimize costs, and maximize renewable energy for the community?
Who are OCPA’s contract partners, and have OCPA’s contracts with them (called “Power Purchasing Agreements”) met all state requirements for resource adequacy?*
On June 29, the Orange County Power Authority met to approve two contracts for its resource adequacy needs. According to the California Public Utilities Commission, all electricity utility entities need to procure, for example, 90% of the obligation for the following summer and 100% of their obligations for the upcoming month.
Citing rights to confidentiality, the agenda item did not provide information about the energy load or prices. As an elected official of Irvine, however, a member city in the Orange County Power Authority, Councilmember Agran has the right to view this information because member cities have representation on OCPA’s Board of Directors, just as the City of Irvine has had the right (now exercised) to conduct an audit of OCPA’s pre-launch costs.
OCPA is launching residential service for ratepayers on October 1, and residents can expect to receive notices in the beginning of August. In the meantime, Councilmember Agran will continue to seek public records of OCPA and share any response(s) he receives.
*The California Public Utilities Commission on April 20 cited the Orange County Power Authority for failing to procure enough power to meet Resource Adequacy requirements and penalized OCPA nearly $2 million. Resource Adequacy requirements ensure that power providers can supply customers with uninterrupted service.