Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) wants cities and ratepayers to trust its claims about the energy it delivers. Since launching in 2022, the community choice energy agency has promoted local control, lower prices and greener energy than Southern California Edison (SCE).
But what energy does OCPA actually deliver to ratepayers in exchange for its promoted benefits—and what evidence does the public have to independently verify that energy?
OCPA’s resistance to meaningful transparency has made that question increasingly pressing.
That’s especially important if OCPA member cities are considering making the highest-priced “100% Renewable” their default product.
For example, under firm-and-shape wind energy contracts, wind
For example, under firm-and-shape wind energy contracts, wind is often not dispatched to serve OCPA load.
Instead, that energy may be “substitute power,” including natural gas that’s still advertised as “wind” on power content labels.
Even though electricity on California’s interconnected grid is fungible, the issue remains – what energy res load?
Irvine Councilmember and OCPA Vice Chair Kathleen Treseder’s
Irvine Councilmember and OCPA Vice Chair Kathleen Treseder’s claim that all OCPA ratepayers were receiving 95.5% renewable energy raises important questions about leadership’s understanding of what it is promoting to the public.
Treseder’s delivery claim contradicts the presentation by OCPA’s energy procurement consultant that she attended eight months earlier.
Treseder also disregards non-renewable substitute power associated with OCPA’s wind, which is not clearly explained to potential OCPA city members.
Board Transparency Problems Aren’t Unique to OCPA
OCPA is not alone in facing questions about governance and transparency.
A June 2026 Marin County Civil Grand Jury
A June 2026 Marin County Civil Grand Jury report found governance and board problems at Marin Clean Energy – the community choice agency after which OCPA modeled itself.
Similarly, the California State Auditor’s 2023 report noted “OCPA does not share the confidential terms of its purchase agreements with its board at open meetings or in closed sessions.”
Treseder later provided unredacted power contracts, enabling Irvine staff to review them.
However, while the contracts establish key terms, they do not, by themselves, establish the annual energy content represented to ratepayers; that requires reconciliation with numerous other records.
Further, unredacted power contracts do not reveal greenwashing.
Transparency issues have spread into OCPA’s Improvement Plan,
Transparency issues have spread into OCPA’s Improvement Plan, a document written to address OCPA failures exposed by numerous audits.
The Plan represented a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Huntington Beach as a “Transparency” success for OCPA. However, four months earlier, OCPA had already denied Huntington Beach’s access to energy procurement records it sought for verifying the 100% Renewable product under the same NDA.
OCPA’s handling of the dispute contributed to Huntington Beach’s decision to leave OCPA.
This history matters because OCPA presented a different story to Fountain Valley.
What Leaders Said—and Left Out
Several months later, OCPA appeared before Fountain Valley’s city council.
When asked about Huntington Beach’s exit, OCPA described
When asked about Huntington Beach’s exit, OCPA described it as just a change of priorities.
That framing was central to Fountain Valley’s pending vote to join OCPA.
Fountain Valley’s representative on the OCPA board, Glenn Grandis, remains satisfied with the agency’s transparency and suggests that, if his city ever wanted to depart from OCPA, it could satisfy its financial obligations by selling the OCPA energy contracts entered into on Fountain Valley’s behalf.
What was not disclosed to his fellow council members was that liquidating energy contracts effectively places Fountain Valley in the role of a commodities trader, with the city’s general fund ultimately assuming associated risks in OCPA.
This leaves taxpayers exposed after being told opting
This leaves taxpayers exposed after being told opting out means OCPA “doesn’t affect you.”
Further, the proposed departure safety net could face challenges during a COVID-type economic downturn, when community choice programs failed or postponed their launches. Similarly, if the AI/data-center growth bubble bursts, Fountain Valley could find itself saddled with relatively high-priced energy contracts.
In either scenario, customers may have greater incentives to opt out, potentially accelerating a cycle of declining participation and increasing financial pressure on the city’s OCPA obligations — a potential death spiral.
Information the Public Should Be Given
Cities and ratepayers need transparent information before deciding
Cities and ratepayers need transparent information before deciding whether OCPA deserves their trust and their money.
OCPA should disclose the energy procurement records from January 1, 2021, through April 30, 2026.
Analysis should not be performed by conflicted consultants.
Those records would show, in megawatt-hours, what OCPA purchased, what energy was delivered, what substitute power was supplied, how energy was shaped, how the transactions were settled, and how those transactions correspond to the energy products advertised to ratepayers.
The public does not need OCPA’s confidential energy prices to verify the energy content.
Given OCPA’s lack of transparency, an individual’s decision
Given OCPA’s lack of transparency, an individual’s decision toopt outis a reasonable response.
Choice is a good thing—but only when consumers have enough information to independently evaluate the choice before them.
Jim Phelps is a former power contractor and utility rate analyst. He served four years in the rulemaking process helping implement energy reporting legislation at the California Energy Commission, codified by the California Public Utilities Commission. He also contributed to the Commission’s Rulemaking for Power
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