Joe Barton: “The great State of California has buy-cap authority today. If the Governor of California thinks that electricity prices…”

“The great State of California has buy-cap authority today. If the Governor of California thinks that electricity prices are too high, since the State is buying all the wholesale power, all he has got to do is pick up the phone and call the gentleman who is negotiating these contracts... The Governor of California has buy-cap authority right now. What has happened? What has happened is in the last 6 months, as California began to grapple with the fact that they are a part of the real world, they cannot suspend economic laws, they have begun to negotiate contracts, and long-term contracts from 1 year to 5 years to 10 years, some of those contracts are becoming public and they are finding out they are paying above market prices. Now, I do not think the political leadership in the great State of California started out to pay above market prices. I think just the opposite.”