Orange County Power Authority Hires Energy Programs Analyst and Promotes Key Staff Members

OCPA continues to recruit and develop team members with Community Choice Aggregation experience

IRVINE, Calif. (July 19, 2023) – Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) announced the hiring of its first energy programs analyst, Patty Cruz, whose role will be focused on expanding energy program offerings – such as customer rebates, incentives and savings tools.

“Patty’s role is essential to help OCPA implement renewable energy programs for our customers,” said Interim CEO Joe Mosca. “One of the unique benefits of community energy providers is being able to reinvest revenue back into the communities we serve to support long-term sustainability.”

Previously, Patty was a community engagement manager at Central Coast Community Energy where she initiated and developed collaborative relationships with community members, local business owners, municipal staff, public officials, and other key stakeholders. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Communication Journalism and Media Studies and a Master of Business Administration from California State University, Monterey Bay.

Owen Lee, CPA, has been promoted from controller to the position of director of finance and data analytics. Owen’s career spans over a decade in finance roles of increasing responsibility within Fortune 500 corporations. Prior to joining OCPA in 2022, he served as a director of finance for over two years at Central Coast Community Energy. Throughout Owen’s tenure at OCPA, he has consistently demonstrated an exceptional grasp of financial management principles and has proven himself to be an outstanding analytical expert. His ability to identify trends and provide valuable insights has played a pivotal role in driving strategic decision-making, enabling him to navigate complex energy load forecasts and settlement issues for OCPA.

Steven Halligan also joined OCPA in 2022 and has been promoted from management analyst to regulatory and legislative manager where he will lead and develop legislative and regulatory policies and strategies for OCPA, engage in rulemaking, compliance matters and proposed legislation, and provide analysis of technical, regulatory, and legislative issues. Steven has many years of experience in managing legislative affairs, including a thorough understanding of legislative processes from tracking to data analysis to implementation, and his insights and analytical skills have been instrumental in strategic decision making for OCPA.  

These staffing moves are part of OCPA’s FY 2023-24 budget to bring on four additional full-time employees and two interns to ensure adequate coverage of essential functions within the organization.

Nearing its one year anniversary of providing residential service, OCPA is serving more than 200,000 residential customers who are actively participating in the community energy movement in the cities of Buena Park, Huntington Beach, Fullerton and Irvine.

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.