The Orange County Power Authority has moved on from their former Chief Executive Officer Brian Probolksy—and paid extra to do so—after facing scrutiny for months under Probolsky’s leadership, which led to his firing in April.
In documents obtained by the online news outlet Voice of OC, a copy of the former CEO’s severance agreement showed he will receive $450,000 for his “without cause” termination, provided he does not speak poorly—indefinitely—about the agency.
“Both Executive and OCPA agree that they shall not make, directly or indirectly … derogatory or disparaging oral, written, and/or electronic statements about the other relating to OCPA’s products, services, and business policies,” the agreement which Probolsky signed reads.
More specifically, the issue applies to all communications of Probolsky’s, whether it be in a new job interview, on social media, to the media, to colleagues, or to anyone, according to the agreement.
In his employment agreement, also obtained by the news outlet, Probolsky was promised six months’ salary in the event of such a termination, which would have equaled $119,500.
The rest of his severance package, nearly four times as much as his initial contract, came from a few sources including an “Additional Cash Consideration” of $119,500, according to the document. Nearly $42,000 was also added for unused vacation time and for insurance coverage for a year and another $161,000 for Probolksy’s agreement to only speak amicably of the agency.
Probolsky also agreed to drop his whistleblower complaint against the OCPA he filed last June alleging the agency’s former board of directors attempted to wrongfully hire former Huntington Beach City Councilman Mike Posey, according to multiple media reports.
In his complaint, Probolsky accused board members of working together to replace him with Posey, who previously served on the board of the green energy agency.
OCPA Board Member Tammy Kim, who is also the vice mayor of Irvine, told The Epoch Times the additional payout of $161,000 was to essentially save time from any potential legal battles and to move forward with a fresh start.
Referring to his complaint she said, “whether we felt he had a case or not—we didn’t feel he really had a case—what we were essentially paying for ... was really for our own board’s time ... staff time and just moving forward with a clean slate.”
She said without doing so, Probolsky’s complaint would have dragged on and taken away important time from the agency’s mission of providing clean energy.
First formed in 2020 as a “greener” alternative to Southern California Edison (SCE), the OCPA has been criticized for a lack of transparency and inexperienced management.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to withdraw their unincorporated areas from receiving power from the agency last December, and Huntington Beach voted to exit in May.
Leading up to Probolsky’s eventual firing, the California State Auditor released findings that the former CEO improperly executed agreements worth $1.8 million to marketing and financial services, while skirting required board procedures in the process last year.
