REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Oliver Chi, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Travis K. Hopkins, Assistant City Manager
Subject:
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Consider Maintaining Membership with the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), a Community Choice Energy (CCE) Joint Power Authority (JPA)
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Statement of Issue:
On December 10, 2020, the City approved the required Ordinance, Resolution, and JPA agreement necessary for Huntington Beach to join the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), a Community Choices Energy (CCE) Joint Power Authority (JPA). The decision was made to join the CCE at that time for a variety of reasons, including the following:
* The potential for ongoing electrical power cost savings when compared against rates charged by SCE.
* By joining in December 2020, the City would be considered a Founding Party member, which places Huntington Beach onto the JPA Executive Board Committee.
* The agreements expressly allowed for any participating agency to withdraw from the JPA for any reason and without any liability or cost by March 1, 2021 (subsequently, the withdrawal deadline was extended to April 1, 2021).
Given those factors, as part of the determination to join the OCPA, the City Council also directed that staff complete a full assessment of the proposed JPAs feasibility plan, and bring those findings back for review at the City's February 1, 2021 meeting. At that time, the City Council would make a final determination on whether or not to participate in the CCE.
Subsequently, staff coordinated with MRW & Associates (MRW), an independent firm that was hired to assess the OCPAs implementation plan. A summary of MRWs findings (see attached report assessing OCPA) is as follows:
* The OCPA CCE is expected to be financially feasible.
* The MRW analysis confirmed that OCPA is projected to be able to provide power at rates lower than Southern California Edison.
* The MRW assessment identified...
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