Facts & Figures

• OCPA exists to provide renewable energy at stable and competitive rates.

  OCPA’s mission as a not-for-profit community energy provider is to offer renewable energy at stable and competitive rates. This ensures California and our member cities meet their climate action goals while having a comparable option to participate in the renewable energy movement.

• OCPA is not an extra charge on electricity bills.

  Each month, customers receive a single bill from SCE, with both SCE transmission/delivery charges and OCPA generation charges. OCPA generation charges are not extra or duplicate charges; OCPA simply replaces SCE as your electricity generator – or power purchaser. Visit ocpower.org/understand-your-bill to learn more.

• California electricity bills are broken into two buckets.

  Generation is roughly 30% of the bill and delivery is roughly 70% of the bill. OCPA operates on the generation side of the bill, and generation rates have been going down year-over-year. As a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), OCPA operates solely on the generation side. It does not manage transmission and distribution, which are entirely the responsibility of investor-owned utilities like SCE.

• All electricity customers have energy added to the electric grid on their behalf based on their specific usage.

  OCPA customers get the unique chance to determine how much of that energy comes from renewable sources! Over time, as more clean energy is put onto the grid, the blend of energy reaching all homes and businesses will be greener.

• OCPA is all about choice!

  As a result of California state law, if a city adopts community choice energy, it becomes the default energy provider and customers are automatically opted in. Customers can choose from three renewable energy plans, or return to the investor-owned utility, at any time. CCAs allow customers to choose the amount of clean energy that aligns with their needs and clean energy commitment.

• OCPA purchases renewable energy on behalf of its customers.

  OCPA purchases renewable and carbon-free energy on behalf of its customers from a diverse portfolio of sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass. OCPA’s most recent Power Content Label reports that OCPA purchased 81% renewable energy from 68% carbon-free resources.

• Energy affordability is a top priority for OCPA.

  OCPA is working with CCAs throughout California to advocate for energy affordability at the state and national level. Our Basic Choice plan is a cost-effective option for customers, allowing everyone the opportunity to contribute to a clean energy future and fulfilling OCPA’s mission of energy equity and affordability.

• Low-income programs remain available for OCPA customers.

  This includes medical baseline, the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program, and the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program.

• OCPA is committed to community investment.

  OCPA has dedicated over $1.2M to programs that save customers money and energy, and help them transition to cleaner energy sources. Over $300,000 has been awarded in grants to nonprofit organizations for advancing clean energy and sustainability initiatives, and over $300,000 has been reinvested in communities to support local events and showcase OCPA as a community partner.

• All technologies have some environmental impact, and renewable energy sources have been found to have much lower lifecycle emissions and environmental impacts compared to fossil fuels.

  Many renewable energy materials and systems are also designed with recycling and end-of-life plans in place.

• While some renewable energy sources like solar and wind fluctuate based on nature, other sources are predictable and stable!

  Energy storage saves renewable energy and deploys it whenever needed. And hydropower, where energy comes from the controlled release of water, and geothermal power, where energy is harnessed from the heat beneath our feet, are always on.

  Community choice energy agencies like OCPA have a diversified portfolio of renewable sources to ensure reliability and efficiency.

• While SCE has a Green Tariff Shared Renewables program (Green Rate program), it is closed because capacity is met.
  Out of approximately 5 million accounts in the full SCE service area, approximately 3,000 accounts (.06%) are enrolled in the Green Rate program. OCPA has the ability to procure as much renewable energy as customers desire based on their selected OCPA renewable energy plan.