WASHINGTON, D.C. - “Price spikes are not the cause of California’s problems. They are the symptoms of deeper problems associated with a supply and demand imbalance. We must not lose sight that it was California that created this situation in the first place,” said Chairman Frank H. Murkowski today during a hearing to learn about FERC’s April 26, 2001 order addressing electricity prices in California and the Western United States. “It was California that chose to forgo construction of new generation and transmission, instead placing reliance on power generated in neighboring states. FERC’s order is intended to bring the California spot power market under control for the summer and to begin the process of addressing conditions in the rest of the West,” Murkowski said. “The situation in California is a warning light on this country’s dashboard. If we don’t implement an energy policy that promotes domestic energy production, California’s problems will soon be the nation’s problems,” said the Chairman. ###