Residents in Four Orange County Cities Now Have Access to Community Choice Energy
IRVINE– The Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) today announced that it has launched residential service in the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Irvine to nearly 800,000 residents – offering customers a choice in how much renewable energy they want to use.
OCPA’s 3-tiered plans put the power back in the hands of residents giving them control over energy consumption like never before. Customers can choose from OCPA’s 38% Basic Choice, equal in cost to Southern California Edison (SCE) – or Smart Choice, which provides at least 69% renewable energy and 100% renewable energy, which makes the most impact, but currently costs slightly more than SCE. Participation is flexible.
“For the first time, residents in some of the largest cities in Orange County have a say in where their electricity comes from and they have the power to shift toward cleaner energy,” said Brian Probolsky, Chief Executive Officer.
Before OCPA, energy used by businesses and residents came from a single mixture of non-renewable sources like coal, oil and gas. OCPA allows local communities to take steps toward a cleaner environment, replacing the fossil fuels with wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro-generated electricity. SCE still provides power transmission to customers, and both SCE and OCPA work together to ensure electric service reliability.
Unlike SCE, California law does not allow OCPA to make a profit. Instead, OCPA will reinvest revenue in the communities it serves, helping to stabilize energy rates. “We don’t make a profit, we make healthier, more resilient communities,” said Probolsky.
OCPA successfully launched commercial service in April and has seen a 92% participation rate of eligible businesses using renewable energy to support Orange County’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
To ensure enough renewable energy is available to business and residential customers, and to help stabilize rates, OCPA has already procured 100% of the power it needs for customers through the end of 2022 and substantailly through 2023.
About Orange County Power Authority
The Orange County Power Authority is a not-for-profit public agency that offers clean power at competitive rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling reinvestment in local energy programs through consumer choice. At full service rollout, OCPA will be the sixth largest and one of the greenest community choice energy providers in California, with approximately 875 MW in peak load serving over 825,000 residents and businesses in its service area. To learn more, visitwww.ocpower.org.
