Ed Maurer
The city of Irvine is proud of its reputation as the leafy haven of Orange County, but a recent squabble at its city council suggests that this green veneer may be more superficial. Back in 2021, Irvine, joined by Buena Park, Fullerton and Huntington Beach, was a major mover in the creation of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), a non-profit community choice energy program, to give residents the choice of electric energy generated entirely from renewable resources. At the same time, Irvine began work on a comprehensive Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. with ambitious emissions reduction targets based on the clean energy provided by OCPA. When, on December 12, 2024, Irvine’s city council voted unanimously to initiate its withdrawal from OCPA, it signaled its willingness to abandon a major part of its Plan, potentially reducing its value to the paper it was printed on.
Let us be straight about this. OCPA did have management and communications problems in the beginning that culminated in the firing of its first CEO, Brian Probolsky, in the spring of 2023. Since then, however, the agency has cleaned up its act and is now under the leadership of Joe Mosca, who has a deep knowledge and understanding of both the energy industry and of local government. Although Huntington Beach left OCPA after the extremist takeover of its own city council in 2022, the agency is expanding again. Fountain Valley is its newest member, while Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach and Stanton are considering joining soon.
The situation in Irvine came to a head—and a vote---on September 9, 2025. City council member Kathleen Treseder*, having changed her mind, led the charge to stay with OCPA, observing that “if we withdraw from OCPA, our [Climate Action Plan] will be hamstrung.” The council voted 5 to 2 for staying with OCPA, with members James Mai, Melinda Liu*, William Go*, and Betty Martinez also in support. Mayon Larry Agran and member Mike Carroll remained opposed.
We believe that this eleventh-hour reversal was brought about by the tremendous outpouring of public support for OCPA, and we applaud the grassroots effort that was evident at every city council meeting leading up to the vote on September 9. Irvine residents, young and old, spoke out forcefully in favor of having a choice of power sources and for the many benefits that OCPA offers. Agran and Carroll stood alone in their preference for investor-owned Southern California Edison (SCE), the utility with the highest electricity rates in the state, which has repeatedly been found responsible for causing wildfires due to its lack of proper maintenance.
The positive outcome in Irvine also suggests that sustained public support for OCPA at city council meetings may lead to similar success in other OC communities where city councils remain enamored with investor-owned utilities.
*Earned Sierra Club endorsements in 2022/2024 elections.