But Steve Maviglio, the governor's press secretary, defended Davis's measured approach. He said Davis will announce more proposals after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission makes a final determination in two weeks about the wholesale market in California. We have tried to emphasize this is just the first step in a comprehensive plan. Everything is still on the table. One controversial aspect of the governor's plan is to further reduce caps on the prices the state's power exchange will allow wholesalers to sell electricity to California distribution companies.
Energy producers oppose price caps.
Another is to prevent utility companies from selling their power plants, as required under the terms of deregulation, until the market becomes more competitive. The two companies have worked to speed up their entry into the deregulated market since wholesale electricity prices skyrocketed and the costs exceeded what the companies could charge customers. The remainder of the governor's proposals, however, appear to be nothing new or bold. Davis also recommended coordinating the times when power plants can shutdown to do maintenance to prevent several plants from going down at once and dramatically reducing supply. State authorities said that problem contributed to price spikes in mid-November.