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Residents urge Fountain Valley to exit Orange County Power Authority as council pauses action
Summary
Multiple Fountain Valley residents told the City Council they believe joining the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) would raise rates and expose residents to financial risk; OCPA leaders and some council members defended the authority and called for more time and public education before a final decision.
Multiple residents warned the Fountain Valley City Council that joining the Orange County Power Authority could raise utility bills and transfer financial risk to local ratepayers, pressing the council to delay enrollment and to host a study session.
Michelle Johnson, an Irvine resident with a finance and planning background, told the council that OCPA’s losses “are accelerating,” saying the agency expected to lose about $45 million over the prior 18 months and had slashed reserves. She urged the city to perform detailed due diligence and to consider the risk language in the JPA agreement that she said could push liabilities onto customers.
Other speakers painted similar pictures. Harvey Liss, a licensed civil engineer, said OCPA’s trading model left it unable to match Southern California Edison on price and claimed OCPA’s power‑content label showed higher greenhouse‑gas intensity. Mike Rowe presented handouts that he said illustrated projected rate increases for 2026 and suggested the council consider opting out to protect residential and municipal budgets.
OCPA leadership offered a contrasting view. Susan Sani, chair of OCPA’s board and a Buena Park council member, said the authority focuses on local reinvestment and had locked generation rates for 2026 to give customers stability. She pointed to community grants—such as a small solar grant to a Buena Park middle school—and told the council that current generation rates remain similar to the recent historical averages for SCE.
Council members acknowledged both sets of concerns. Council Member Grandes summarized recent OCPA board action and told the dais he planned to ask that the city delay enrollment by roughly six months (to April 2027) to allow more study and public education; he also said no contracts or liabilities had been executed yet for Fountain Valley. Several council members supported scheduling additional outreach or a study session so residents could weigh the evidence.
Next steps: Council members agreed to place an item on an upcoming agenda to provide a fuller update on OCPA and to explore an outreach/study session; staff will return with details and any requested analyses.
