New Power Plants Can Supply 3 Million Homes

California has added new power plants that can produce enough energy to operate about 3 million homes, state officials said, but a financial slump has them worried about future energy supplies.

Plants built since May 2001 produce 4,100 megawatts, said Steve Larson, executive director of the California Energy Commission, the agency that licenses and approves new power plants.

The commission expects to gain 3,600 megawatts from plants scheduled to be running by next summer, Larson said, and 2,400 megawatts are expected the following year.

He said, however, that state officials “are concerned about after 2005.”