My administration will continue to work to help California through the difficult months ahead. Anything that meets that test will alleviate the shortage, and we will move swiftly to adopt it. Anything that fails that test will make the shortage worse. We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse. And that's why I oppose price caps.
Price caps do nothing to reduce demand, and they do nothing to increase supply.
This is not only my administration's position, this was the position of the prior administration. At first blush, for those struggling to pay high energy bills, price caps may sound appealing. But their result will ultimately be more serious shortages and, therefore, even higher prices. I want to assure Californians that the federal government takes very seriously our responsibility to make sure that companies are not illegally gauging consumers. I'm pleased that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has done just that.