An improvement plan designed to address questions raised by three audits about the Orange County Power Authority’s management, pricing strategies and transparency was presented to its board Wednesday, March 15, outlining changes already made and others in the works.
The OCPA launched in 2020 as an alternative option to Southern California Edison, offering more renewable energy blends in founding cities Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Irvine. It is the county’s first community choice energy program. The OCPA was set to also begin serving unincorporated communities of Orange County, but the OC Board of Supervisors decided to leave the program late last year amid the criticisms.
“We have undergone several audits over the past six or seven months and numerous hours responding to these audits and reports,” Joe Mosca, OCPA’s director of communications and external affairs, told its board of directors Wednesday. “What we have for you today is an improvement plan that captures all the recommendations ever made and how we are going to address every one of those audits.”
The improvements were outlined by Elaine Howle, principal at Balance Public Relations and a former California state auditor, who officials said helped the OCPA executive team come up with its response.
Already addressed, officials said, is the greater inclusion of a Community Advisory Committee in oversight and board meetings. Regular meetings will be held and a member of the committee will be present at board meetings from here on out. The agency has also amended how it tracks its agendas and meets notification requirements, including time stamping when they go online to improve transparency, according to Mosca.
The OCPA has also hired a board clerk and assistant to the CEO to better ensure transparency.
In its recently released findings, the California State Auditor’s Office recommended the agency amend its risk management program, so by May, OCPA officials said an…
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