BACKGROUND:

Community Choice Aggregation, also called Community Choice Energy, municipal aggregation, etc, is an alternative to the investor-owned utility energy supply system in which local entities in the United States aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts.[1] The CCA chooses the power generation source on behalf of the consumers. This allows the public to pick more sustainable energy sources at lower costs and return the profits back to communities.

In Orange County, 5 cities. Irvine, Huntington Beach, Lake Forest, Buena Park, and Fullerton have formed the Orange County Power Authority, which will create a 100% clean energy portfolio in Irvine by the year 2022 and a higher renewable mix in all cities.

Now, the Lake Forest City Council influenced and bought out by fossil fuel companies like SoCalGas, wants to pull out of clean energy during a climate crisis. Additionally, Doug Cirbo is a climate science denier and Neeki Moatazedi, who called CCE “bureaucracy”, works for fossil fuel company SoCal Gas.

On Feb 16th, a consulting company will present an analysis generally favorable for OCPA, saying it would lower costs and increase energy stability, while also warning the city of Lake Forest not to start its own CCE program.

Goal: Flood every council meeting demanding clean energy and sounding the alarm on climate change.

HOW TO CALL:

Call the Lake Forest City Council Voicemail Public Comment line at (949) 461-3455. You have 3 minutes to speak. Use all 3 minutes. This is a Filibuster. Keep talking about climate change and clean energy.

You can leave your voicemail anytime before Tuesday, Feb 16nd at 5pm. Your comment will be played out loud during the council meeting.

WHAT TO SAY:

My name is _______, and I am urging you to stay in the OC Power Authority.

Say why climate change is important to you and why we should stop it.

Example: Worsening climate change caused extreme weather that caused significant wildfires last summer. These wildfires choked out the sky and created bad air quality, making the air toxic to breathe. IT was very hard for me to breathe due to the fire and tens of thousands fleed their homes afraid if it would be there when they came back. And wildfires will only get more frequent and severe.

You can talk about how climate personally impacted you or talk about specific impacts on Climate (for example, coral bleaching or impacts on glaciers)

Tips: Be personal, share personal stories about climate change or the environment.
Example talking points:

1. Right now, our only energy option is monopoly SoCal Edison. Lake Forest families want and deserve a CHOICE of energy providers. CCE creates competition that encourages innovation and better pricing for OC households.

2. CCE is the best way to bring energy savings to Lake Forest residents and businesses. Irvine is paying all the launch costs, so there are no tradeoffs.

3. Community Choice Energy will build a stable electrical grid through rooftop solar plus battery storage microgrids to stop blackouts, brownouts, and reliance on SCE’s poles and wires.

4. OCPA will stabilize resident’s bills and offer cleaner energy and rate savings to families and businesses.

5. Where CCE programs go, clean energy jobs follow. OCPA is projected to create $85M in new economic activity. Los Angeles’ CCE program is projected to create 1,500 new clean energy jobs in its first year.

6. The bills that Lake Forest residents pay through OCPA, will stay in the community to support sustainability programs right in their backyards. Right now, that money goes to Edison shareholders.

Ideas for other talking points:

• Impacts on Climate Change, Environmental Racism of Oil and Gas Drilling, Refining, and usage.

• How transitioning to clean energy is an environmental/economic justice issue and how it can create economic growth and jobs in the local economy.

• Talk about conservation, protecting wildlife.

• How this is an opportunity to vastly benefit Lake Forest residents.

• The more cities in the CCE, the lower the energy cost. Economies of scale, my dude.

Email:

TO: council@lakeforestca.gov
SUBJ: ATTN Public Comment re: STAY IN OCPA
MESSAGE: Dear Mayor Voigts and Council,
Please vote to STAY in OCPA and bring Community Choice for Lake Forest families and businesses. Lake Forest deserves consumer choice, cost savings, and energy resilience in the face of fires, floods, and an economic downturn.

Watch Online

Watch the live stream for the board meeting (Starts on Tuesday, Feb 2nd at 6:30pm):  fb.com/lakeforestca.

Extra credit petition:

Action Network Petition: Tell Lake Forest City Council: We Want Clean Energy Choice

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