California controls the prices of electricity within the state, which conservative economist Thomas Sowell blames for the occasional electricity shortages the state experiences. Sowell said in 2001, "Since the utility companies have been paying more for electricity than they were allowed to charge their customers, they were operating in the red and the financial markets are downgrading their bonds." California's price-setting board agreed to raise rates but not as much as the companies were paying on the wholesale market for their electricity. Economist Lawrence Makovich contended, "We've already seen in California that price caps on retail rates increased demand and made the shortage worse and price caps also forced the largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, into bankruptcy in four months." While some charged that electricity providers had in past years charged above-market rates, in 2002 the "San Francisco Chronicle" reported that before the blackouts, many energy providers left the state because they could make a greater profit in other Western states. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stepped in and set price caps for each megawatt of power bought after lifting the caps to avoid rolling blackouts six months previously.