The Irvine City Council voted this week to rescind its notice of intent to withdraw from the Orange County Power Authority, reversing a decision made last year that threatened to pull the plug on the city’s involvement in the county’s first community choice energy program.
The vote means the roughly 75% of Irvine residents enrolled in the OCPA system will continue to have the option to choose renewable energy plans and access rebates through the program, rather than being limited to purchasing power exclusively from Southern California Edison.
“We’re talking about the ability to choose. If you feel like paying SCE, go for it. If you feel like opting for 100% renewable energy with OCPA, go for it,” Councilmember Melinda Liu said.
Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, who asked her colleagues to support reversing course, said even she was initially skeptical about OCPA’s transparency, but she has seen significant improvements. In December, Treseder, along with the rest of the City Council, voted unanimously to authorize the city’s withdrawal from the power authority this year.
“In December, I was concerned along with the rest of the council in OCPA’s communications and how much they reached out to Irvine and involved us. Since then, I’ve been very pleased with improvements in OCPA in terms of my own experience,” she said. “There’s a new chair who’s very collaborative, I’ve been able to contact her immediately whenever I have questions.”
“If Irvine does withdraw from OCPA, we lose our ability to choose renewable energy, to get benefits. If we withdraw, all residents will be forced to choose SoCal Edison,” she added. “If we withdraw from OCPA, our residents will pay more.”
According to Southern California Edison, customers on OCPA’s basic plan pay a little less than 1% less than SCE customers, while those on OCPA’s smarter choice or 100% renewable plans pay slightly more on average.
Treseder also pointed to what she described as SCE’s liabilities. The federal government has sued the utility over the Eaton fire, and the state has proposed to recoup wildfire emergency funds by charging customers of three of the state’s biggest for-profit utilities, including SCE, $9 billion.
“I do not want to hamper our residents with that kind of liability,” she said.
Councilmember Betty Martinez Franco said she entered office wanting to leave OCPA, but her perspective also shifted.
“It’s no secret that when I started my campaign, I wanted to exit OCPA. I did my own research … the most attractive for me wasn’t the rates, it wasn’t the clean energy, it was the community benefits that we were going to receive,” Franco said. “I always say that sometimes in the name of the environment, we kind of don’t care about low-income communities and that’s one of the problems I hope as a community we can solve together, because we have to balance environment and the humans. They have to co-exist. With that said, I did change my mind. I want to support OCPA and I want to see them succeed.”
Franco had unsuccessfully suggested making the reversal contingent on two items: full repayment of Irvine’s initial $7.5 million investment in OCPA by the end of December, and amending the agency’s bylaws to guarantee Irvine retains two board seats.
Mayor Larry Agran called for repayment with interest by year’s end, bylaw changes ensuring two seats for Irvine, an additional seat for Irvine if one more city joins the power authority and a freeze on basic tier rates through 2026. But his colleagues didn’t think that was necessary.
Instead, a council majority agreed to stay with the OCPA while requiring the authority to begin repayment with interest and negotiate the terms on Irvine’s representation. Agran and Councilmember Mike Carroll opposed.
Luis Esteves, director of the Irvine Great Park, outlined the new rebates OCPA offered this year, including a $1,000 rebate for home battery storage, up to $1,000 for home EV chargers and free home energy efficiency kits.
Supporters of OCPA argued that those programs, along with lower bills, are vital as families face rising utility costs. According to the California Public Utilities Commission, SCE customer rates have increased 26% in the last three years and 85% in the last decade. SCE plans another 10% hike this year and 45% more by 2030.
OCPA’s basic choice product — Irvine’s default plan since December — saves families an average of 3% compared with SCE, according to the agency.
Participation in the power authority is also tied to Irvine’s climate goals. At a March council meeting, city staff said OCPA’s basic program provides 47% renewable energy, compared to 38% from SCE. Staff said that helps Irvine cut 360,000 tons of climate pollution per year.
Fountain Valley joined OCPA this year and will begin service in 2026. Costa Mesa and Stanton are considering membership.