The City of Irvine, CA held a Special Meeting this morning, December 29th, 2022, to discuss withdrawing from the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA). The Irvine City Council ultimately voted to stay in as a member of the OCPA. Recently the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted on December 20th, 2022 to remove themselves from the OCPA. Due to these recent events, and the action taken by the City Council on December 20, 2022 directing staff to look into options for withdrawal, I felt it prudent to provide an update to Huntington Beach residents.
The OCPA placed all its members in a precarious situation. However, acting to withdraw in haste will likely subject the City to millions of dollars in immediate costs - costs that would be borne right away by the Huntington Beach taxpayers. There are many paths forward and the goal is to choose the path that best benefits the City of Huntington Beach and its tax paying residents, while at the same time limits enormous financial risk to the City’s General Fund.
“I believe it is critical that we as a City Council make an informed decision regarding withdrawal from the OCPA, which is why I authored the December 20, 2022 City Council item pertaining to this topic,” said Council Member Casey McKeon. “In directing staff to provide options, costs, and paths forward to remove/withdraw the City entirely from the Orange County Power Authority before the end of February, we can evaluate the best path forward for our City.”
“Prudence requires a measured, decision-making path forward, i.e., calculating all costs and benefits of next steps before taking those steps,” said Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark. “I was happy to join Council Member McKeon as a coauthor of the December 20, 2022 OCPA City Council item because I believe having all of the facts at our disposal will allow us to choose the best path forward.”