Huntington Beach City Council to select renewable energy rates

The Huntington Beach City Council will decide its default rate selection for the Orange County Power Authority launch at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The Orange County Power Authority, a community choice energy program, includes four cities: Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Irvine and Buena Park, as well as the county of Orange. It is an alternative to Southern California Edison, with local governments retaining control and being able to purchase more renewable energy sources.

The authority will launch commercial service in April, with residential service following in October. Customers will be automatically opted in but have the ability to opt out or select their own renewable energy rates.

Basic choice, smart choice and 100% renewable choice are the three options before the City Council. Basic choice energy features 38.5% renewables, with smart choice featuring at least 69% renewables.

Estimates by the OCPA are that basic choice energy would cost the same as Southern California Edison, while smart choice would be 3.7% higher and 100% renewable would be 5.6% higher.

The Buena Park City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to go with 100% renewable energy.

Tuesday’s City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. and can be watched on channel HBTV-3 or online at huntingtonbeach.legistar.com. Residents may send comments on agenda items to [email protected].

In keeping with the governor’s mandate to limit in-person gatherings that can spread COVID-19, the meeting is virtually accessible. The Council chambers will be open for public attendance to provide public comments only, and attendees are required to wear a face covering.

Communications received by 2 p.m. Tuesday will be distributed to the council prior to consideration of agenda-related items.

Residents are encouraged to submit comments during the meeting via Zoom. The Webinar ID is 971 5413 0528 and can be reached via the Zoom app or by calling (669) 900-6833 and entering the ID. Individuals will be placed in a holding queue and prompted to speak when the city clerk announces their name or the last three digits of their phone number.

Time for remarks is limited to three minutes.

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