"Wind power produced by California utilities now produces enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 900,000 people," he said.

Nor does the state's plan mandate the sort of retail price caps that crippled the California utilities.

These include the costs California utilities incurred building nuclear plants that were much more expensive than anticipated.

California utilities paid $6.2 billion above competitive prices for wholesale electricity over the last 10 months, state officials estimated.

California utilities are mandated to get 33% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

California utilities paid about $4 billion more for electricity than they did in the summer of 1999.

The company maintained that the California utilities understated their need for power in the market to keep prices low.

His bet on energy carries over to bonds, which he is using to build a stake in distressed California utilities.

Between 2000 and 2001, the combined California utilities laid off 1,300 workers, from 56,000 to 54,700, in an effort to remain solvent.

Though the move would put only California utilities under pressure at first, competition is expected to spread to other states.