Price caps are what contributed to the mess in California.
Both parties are blaming each other for the electricity crisis that began with California's deregulation of the electricity system. Deregulation removed rules requiring power-generating companies to supply customers before selling excess electricity on the open market. California now allows power companies to sell all electricity on the market, making customers compete for power through pricing. Washington Democrats have spoken of imposing price caps on local public utility districts to help keep electricity affordable, but Republicans claim the price caps would cause further problems for utility districts that would pay higher rates for electricity without being paid for the increase. We've got folks across this state who are already being hit by the stock market downturn and job losses.