Views from the Climate Reality Project Orange County­

Linda Kraemer is a longtime leading local and regional environmental advocate, including serving as chair of the Climate Reality Project, Orange County. Her passion and influence was instrumental in advocating for the launch of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA). We chatted with Linda on why she is so excited about the future of OCPA and the broader Community Choice Aggregation network and what lessons could be learned to help the agency evolve.

OCPA is one of 25 Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) agencies in California, serving more than 14 million customers. Why is it particularly important for Orange County to be part of that network?

When Climate Reality looked at communities in California really having an impact on emissions reductions, the common denominator was community choice aggregation. Local municipalities know the needs of their communities best. That includes the energy needs for every stakeholder.

Some of the best examples of climate action and climate action planning in California included community choice aggregation as a component. And we said if we’re going to get serious about climate action we need to make sure we have community choice aggregation here in Orange County.

What I love about community choice agencies is they offer something for everyone. And Orange County is a very mixed community – from businesses to environmental supporters to some of our underrepresented communities who struggle with energy access. Community choice aggregation provides local say and local help in meeting our energy needs for all of those groups. It has something to offer every group.

One of the most exciting things is we are seeing community leaders that have adopted community choice, they know their local communities and they know who’s in need.

I see a pattern with CCAs, they want cleaner energy, municipalities are motivated to choose energy that is cleaner because it impacts them more than investor-owned/for-profit utilities.

What are the long term benefits for residential and commercial customers who choose to invest in renewable energy that may extend beyond what they may see on their monthly electric bill?

Electricity is one of the most vital utilities for life, one could argue it is second next to water. We should have control over electricity at the local level. OCPA is working to find that balance of increasing local control, lowering costs and keeping the lights on.

For a hundred years we have had one choice for a utility. And most of us have just adjusted and adapted to that. But when you have choice in your utility it creates openings that didn’t exist before.

When I think of how this benefits a community, we have a say at the local level. Even when we don’t agree with every decision, we know who to go back to, we know who to talk to. And we know who our local representatives are. We can continue to have a say as individuals in the choices that are being made by our utility.

Unlike their for-profit competitors, CCAs, including OCPA, are not-for-profit organizations that reinvest revenue back into the communities they serve. What have you seen other CCAs do that has been impactful?

Quite frankly one of the reasons that I got so excited is once I saw the types of reinvestment that these CCAs were doing and what was possible for Orange County, I knew we had to have this.

There are so many of the programs I could speak to but just a few examples include:

Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s renewable energy and battery storage microgrid for the California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport, created with federal, state and local partners, that’s already helped them during fire season to keep vital resources available in various shutdowns. And in Southern California, brownouts and blackouts are a reality of life. I saw that as particularly useful for Orange County seeing as we have an airport.

Another beautiful partnership also happened when East Bay Community Energy invested money in a solar microgrid and the city of Richmond put money into low-income housing and, with federal grants, transformed what was useless brownfield space.

And regular things the CCAs seem to be doing is increasing transportation electrification by providing funding for electric car charges in the community, providing more rebates for not only purchasing electric cars but purchasing electric used cars, which immediately saves money. Peninsula Clean Energy did that.

And supporting building electrification. What’s so exciting is that every CCA can look at the needs of their community and provide what’s needed. You have Peninsula Clean Energy offering to fix multifamily and low-income homes so that they’re ready for solar and battery on the roofs or they are more energy efficient.

San Jose Clean Energy has a wonderful solar information website. Sonoma Clean Power opened an innovative center so people can come try out and test electric stoves and take a look at electric equipment. You know, feel it, taste it, touch it.

What I love too is we can learn from the other community choice agencies because they are public agencies, so their actions are public and recorded and they willingly share with their partners. It’s a very supportive community. And so seeing Peninsula Clean Energy’s strategic plan and seeing how they’re addressing transportation electrification, building electrification and 24/7 availability of renewable energy, shows us a model that’s possible in Orange County.

You’ve said Orange County is way behind in addressing the climate crisis. How can OCPA help and if so, what does that help look like in terms of creating an impact?

Because OCPA also has a community connection, and part of their function is to be out in the community educating the public on how to be more sustainable, how to cut emissions. And they’re already doing that.

One of the key functions has also been providing the choice of more renewable energy for customers. They are providing that option to everyone, not just a very tiny percentage of their customers, as has been the case with the investor-owned/for-profit utilities.

While climate change affects everyone, some environmental challenges acutely impact disadvantaged communities in particular. Can community choice energy programs such as OCPA help address such environmental justice disparities in diverse regions such as Orange County?

It’s my hope OCPA does that. It’s very important that we recognize that Orange County has the more lucrative coastal communities and some areas where we have very low income and disadvantaged communities that are subject to pretty bad pollution. And we have to meet the needs of all sectors but we need to put a little more work in meeting the needs of the low income because often they are underrepresented.

It’s important that community energy is accepted by a majority of the constituents because in order for community choice aggregation to work, we need to work as a community.

When we can address neglected needs in our most vulnerable communities, we allow for more equity in our energy systems that has not existed. And it takes some work to make sure we’re focusing on the needs of those local communities. But you’re seeing that with community choice agencies. They are breaking the mold on that and reaching out to those communities and finding out what those customers need.

People drive a lot to the beach but that smog doesn’t stay there. It blows inward and is affecting our north Orange County communities the most. That’s why I’m excited we now have a coastal city, a central city and two north Orange County cities as OCPA member cities. And all those voices need to be heard.

Now that we are one year in, any lessons learned already for how OCPA can continue to evolve in the years ahead?

A lesson I would like people to learn is we have to work together as a community even with people who don’t think like us. Because energy and electricity affects every single one of us and it is in our best interest to figure out what works for Orange County, what works for our community.

About Orange County Power Authority

The Orange County Power Authority is a not-for-profit public agency that offers clean power at competitive rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling reinvestment in local energy programs. To learn more, visit www.ocpower.org.