Orange County Power Authority Named A Top U.S. Green Power Provider

Recognition from National Renewable Energy Laboratory illustrates tremendous impact in first year of service

IRVINE, Calif. (November 16, 2023) – Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) has been recognized as one of the top U.S. green power providers by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

In just its first year in operation, OCPA is already one of the top Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) agencies in both green power sales and customers, according to NREL’s 2022 Utility Green Pricing Program.

“OCPA has dramatically expanded competitively-priced renewable energy to Orange County and become one of the cleanest CCAs and power utilities in California,” said Fred Jung, OCPA Board Chair. “We are addressing climate change and working toward a future where our communities can live, work and play in a cleaner environment.”

As of December 2022, OCPA sold nearly 692,000 megawatt hours of clean power to approximately 236,000 customers in the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Irvine, according to NREL.

The NREL finding echoes OCPA’s first Power Content Label (PCL), which details the agency’s mix of electricity sources during 2022, in demonstrating it is among the cleanest and greenest CCAs in California. OCPA exceeded the mandatory state requirements for the purchase of renewable energy and also exceeded its voluntary renewable energy goals for each retail service offering during the first year. 

OCPA offers three renewable energy plans that increasingly replace dirty fossil fuels with clean energy from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric. That includes a Basic Choice plan costing 2% less than Southern California Edison’s equivalent generation rate. Two other plans offer higher percentages of renewable power – 100% Renewable Choice and the Smart Choice – and cost just slightly more than the Basic Choice plan. 

Nearly 8 in 10 OCPA customers are on the 100% Renewable Choice plan and 18% are on the Smart Choice plan. Collectively OCPA customers have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent of taking 71,565 gas-powered vehicles off the road every year.

It underscores the power of community energy agencies, who are putting more renewable energy onto the power grid at a faster rate than the for-profit, investor-owned utilities. 

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.