The Irvine-based power agency also revived talk of reshaping its board, including the future of Irvine’s second seat.

Irvine’s two representatives on the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) board, Councilmembers Kathleen Treseder and James Mai, voted with the majority on September 14 to raise the maximum monthly pay for OCPA directors from $1,984.50 to $2,646. The 4-1 vote lets directors get paid for up to eight meetings and activities a month, up from six. The per-meeting rate stays at $330.75.

A director who hits the new cap every month would earn $31,752 a year, up from $23,814.

Why It Matters to Irvine
OCPA, the community choice energy agency headquartered on Barranca Parkway, counts Irvine as its largest member city. Irvine customers carry the biggest share of the agency’s costs, and director pay, like the rest of OCPA’s operating budget, is paid through generation charges on customers’ electric bills.

The added cost: If every director claimed two extra paid meetings a month, the change would cost up to $39,690 a year. Total maximum board pay would rise to $158,760.

Per account: OCPA serves more than 188,000 customer accounts. Spread across all of them, the increase is about 21 cents per account per year. All board pay combined comes to about 84 cents.

The bigger bill picture: OCPA’s own rate comparison mailer shows a typical Basic Choice residential customer paying $24.92 more per month than they would with Southern California Edison.

The Vote
Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung proposed the increase, saying it gives directors “room to grow” if they choose to attend more meetings. Treseder and Mai joined him in support. Fountain Valley Director Glenn Grandis cast the lone no vote and did not explain why. Before the vote, he said he donates all of his OCPA pay to charity, most recently to the Boys and Girls Club, and has given close to $10,000. Irvine City News has not independently confirmed the donations.

During public comment, resident Michelle Johnson warned that adding more paid meetings could move decisions out of public view. She urged the board to focus on transparency and public participation instead. No board member, including Irvine’s two directors, responded to her remarks on the record.

What Directors Can Be Paid For
Directors are paid automatically for: Board meetings, standing or ad hoc committee meetings they serve on, meetings of outside government bodies where they represent OCPA, the California Community Choice Association’s annual conferences, and required ethics and sexual harassment prevention training.

With sign-off from both the board chair and the CEO, “on a case-by-case basis,” directors can also be paid for meetings with local, regional, state, or national officials on issues affecting OCPA; meetings, conferences, and seminars related to community choice energy; ceremonial events held by OCPA or other organizations; presentations on OCPA’s behalf to agencies, nonprofits, or service clubs; and meetings with agency staff, including phone calls when attending in person is impractical. Under the policy, the chair and CEO should approve these only when they provide a “benefit to the Authority.”

Other Business
The board also approved an energy market services contract and the agency’s annual power-source disclosure, with few questions for staff.

What’s Next: Irvine’s Second Seat
Director Sonne asked staff to bring back a proposal to expand the five-member board. In July, OCPA’s general counsel floated giving each member city two directors, but the board shelved the idea on a 3-2 vote. Sonne noted the board is set to shrink to four members once Irvine’s loan to the agency is repaid. According to the July minutes, Irvine’s second seat is tied to its share of the agency’s electricity load. That means Irvine could lose one of its two seats, and with it half its voting power, on an agency its residents largely fund.

The September 14 minutes, including the recorded vote on the pay increase, are scheduled for approval at the board’s next meeting on Monday, October 19, at 2 p.m., at OCPA’s offices, 15310 Barranca Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine.

Based in part on reporting by Saskia Kennedy of the Fullerton Observer.