...to think up what he could do, but #1 would have been to get some relief for the non-Californian states (such as my home state, Washington) that were getting screwed over by the spew from California.

As I remember, the price gouging got WORSE outside of California, once the energy regulation committee (and no, I don't remember the name) clamped down on the California market, but then avoided clamping down anywhere else. Perhaps they should have done the opposite?