The 2000–2001 California electricity crisis was a period of severe power shortages and widespread blackouts that plunged the state into an energy emergency. This crisis was primarily engineered by market manipulation, notably by energy companies like Enron, who exploited California's partially deregulated electricity market and state-mandated retail price caps. Firms intentionally took power plants offline and employed tactics like "Fat Boy" to create artificial shortages, inflating wholesale electricity prices by an astounding 800%. The devastating consequences included rolling blackouts across the state, the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and nearly $45 billion in economic damages. This precarious situation was enabled by the 1996 deregulation (AB 1890) under Governor Pete Wilson, ultimately harming Governor Gray Davis's administration and exposing the vulnerabilities of an imperfectly liberalized energy market.