Richardson called the power shortage "the downside of a booming economy" where energy use rose 14 percent over last year nationwide and electricity use in California rose 13 percent.
Electricity suppliers from other states have been reluctant to export electricity to California because of fear they would not be paid by the state's two biggest utilities, both of which are in dire financial straits.
Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison are a combined $8 billion in debt from paying market prices for electricity while being forced to charge regulated prices to customers.
Wholesale electricity prices have gone as high as $1400 per megawatt hour, compared to $35 per megawatt hour last year.
In a Denver, Colorado, meeting Wednesday with Western governors and power company officials, Richardson pushed for a regional cap on wholesale electricity prices.
Some governors were skeptical of the plan, and said they would need more information before they decide whether to support a price cap.
Jim Hoecker, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), said a regional price cap would not be of much help until the national infrastructure could be improved enough to meet the demand for electricity.
Last week, the FERC set a soft price cap for California only. That served to exacerbate California's energy shortage, as suppliers sold electricity to states willing to pay higher prices.
Talks fail to produce long-term contracts
A second round of talks in Washington between California utilities and electricity generators failed Wednesday to produce long-term power supply contracts.
The contracts would have set the price of electricity for several years at a time, eliminating the utilities' current practice of buying power only when needed. That practice drives up prices in times of high demand or low supply.
Long-term contracts would result in higher bills for consumers, but would protect them from sudden price increases.
Judge Curtis Wagner of the FERC said he adjourned the meetings after the parties failed to reach a deal.
He asked both the utilities and the electricity producers to return to the table January 3. Wagner said consumer group representatives would also be invited.
Emergency declared in California
On Wednesday, California's Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages most of the state's power grid, declared a Stage One emergency, meaning residents were being urged to conserve power.
Tuesday night, the ISO for the first time invoked Richardson's order and received additional electricity from out of state suppliers. The situation was strained earlier Tuesday when a major transmission line had to be taken out of service.
The West Coast crisis has been fueled in part by high prices for natural gas. That is also a concern in other areas of the country. Consumer groups said low and moderate income households would be hit hard this winter.
"We project for all households in the Northeast, oil and heat bills will be 35 percent higher than last year and that for households in the Midwest, gas bills will be 50 percent higher," said Stephen Brobeck of the Consumer Federation of America. "Low and moderate income households will be clobbered by these oil and gas price hikes."
Richardson said Wednesday that he thought the Northeast would not face a shortage of home heating oil supplies this winter.
California utilities have warned they could go bankrupt and thousands of jobs will be lost. The utilities blame their debt crisis on a price cap that keep them from passing price hikes onto consumers until 2002.
CNN Correspondent Greg Lamotte, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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