Legislator threatens to sue Davis for power info

Strickland said he has sent a second request to state Controller Kathleen Connell, the Department of General Services and the Department of Water Resources, which makes the power purchases.

"This is particularly surprising since the governor's requests for more spending authority are all signed by Department of Finance officials," said Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks.

The Davis administration has committed $3.7 billion in taxpayer money to buy power for customers of Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison since early January. The utilities, which say they are nearly $14 billion in debt due to high wholesale electricity costs, have been denied credit by wholesalers.

In another development Monday, Davis again asked federal regulators to temporarily limit wholesale prices in the spot market, where power is typically the most expensive. In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Davis suggested a cost-based cap that would allow generators to recover their costs plus a profit of $25 per megawatt hour. The letter was also signed by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Washington Gov. Gary Locke.

Davis has refused to release details of the state's power buys on the spot market, saying it would place state negotiators at a competitive disadvantage.

"Mr. Strickland's proposal is similar to showing your opponent your cards in the middle of a card game," said Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio. "It will result in higher electric rates for California consumers, which is in direct conflict with everything the governor is doing."

Strickland said he doesn't believe releasing the information would drive up the prices the state will pay for power. Californians should know what they're getting for their money, he said.

Maviglio said details on the contracts will be released six months after they're signed.

Connell, who had planned last month to post the contracts' details on her Web site, said she asked for an opinion from state Attorney General Bill Lockyer on whether she could divulge the information. She said she expects a decision by the end of the week.

"Now that many of the long-term contracts have been signed ... one would think the need to maintain secrecy is past," she said. "The question remains, why is this still sensitive, at what point is it no longer sensitive and who makes that decision?"

Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, have filed requests for the information under the state public records act. The news organizations sent the governor a letter Monday asking him to respond to the requests by Wednesday.

The state has pledged to buy one-third of the power Edison and PG&E customers use, and plans to spend upward of $10 billion on electricity over the next decade.

The Davis administration plans to issue revenue bonds in May to cover the costs; the bonds will be repaid by Edison and PG&E customers over several years.

The state Public Utilities Commission is now reviewing whether the utilities' rates are sufficient for the state to recoup its costs, or whether a rate increase is needed.<