California could face new electricity shortages because confusion over the state's energy policies has kept energy companies from investing in desperately needed new power plants, the head of energy group Edison International said on Thursday.

"It is important to raise the alarm ... because there is literally the risk that there will be insufficient power," John Bryson, chairman and chief executive of Edison International, told journalists at an energy conference.

California's poorly designed electricity markets were manipulated by companies like Enron Corp , triggering the 2000-2001 energy crisis that saw rolling brownouts across the state.

Edison International owns the utility Southern California Edison, which narrowly averted bankruptcy during the crisis, as well as the independent power producer Edison Mission Energy.

The state halted its energy deregulation and has moved to bolster its power system, but critics have said no clear energy policy has emerged.

"The reality is though regulators are ... striving mightily to right the ship, there isn't a framework, there isn't clarity about how electricity will and should be provided and as to what the obligation of the utilities are, what the role of independent power or competitive markets may be," Bryson told the conference.

During the energy crisis, an estimated 20,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation was slated to be built to cover supply shortfalls, Bryson said, but that number has now shrunk to about 6,500 MW.

"We face the situation in California now in which investment is not being made, at least in new generating facilities. There simply isn't sufficient power generation being built in California to meet the relatively near-term needs of the state," he said.

Bryson cited a recent California Energy Commission report that said the state could face electricity shortfalls in the summer of 2006 if temperatures rise above normal seasonal levels.

Utilities are reluctant to sign long-term contracts for power supplies since they are not sure about how changes in the rules would alter the size of their customer base and whether commercial and industrial customers will be allowed to switch suppliers.

That limits investment in new power plants, since generators are reluctant to expand production without guaranteed contracts with power buyers in place.

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