BUSH ENERGY ALLIES FADING GALLEGLY, MCKEON GETTING MAJOR HEAT.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Southern California Republican House members' resolve to stand with President George W. Bush and oppose federal intervention in California's energy crisis has started to wilt amid rising temperatures and rolling blackouts.

As the electricity crisis, compounded by soaring gas prices, hits their constituents, Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard, is among those who have bolted from the ranks of supporters of the Bush energy policy and others, like Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, are feeling the heat.

``The next two months for us are going to be so bad politically, the worst we've ever seen,'' said McKeon. ``We're already seeing daily blackouts in the state and people are going to be hit with higher energy costs when their bills arrive this month.''

``This is the toughest issue I've faced in all my years in public office,'' said 12-term Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, who stepped down Thursday as chairman of California's 20-member GOP House delegation.

Lewis, who had held the key post for six years, said he had tired of struggling to keep his delegation, which has already had three defections, in the Bush camp. Lewis also said he wanted to spend more time finding solutions to the state's energy mess.

McKeon, Lewis and other GOP House members are facing growing pressure to back a measure, authored by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, that calls for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to place temporary price caps on electricity while California officials seek a way out of the crisis.

The Republican lawmakers have backed the Bush administration's opposition to price controls on the grounds that the move would only worsen the state's energy woes by discouraging investment and new plant construction. They also note that federal action would only affect out-of-state power producers and providers engaged in interstate commerce. Those sources now supply slightly less than half of the state's electricity.

Bush and his advisers favor a long-term energy strategy that calls for more oil and gas drilling, power plant construction and the waiving of environmental restrictions, which have blocked such efforts.

``Price controls are not going to fix something. They'll do just the opposite,'' said McKeon, who is instead urging Gov. Gray Davis and other state officials to speed up power plant construction and maximize output from existing facilities.

But KcKeon also noted that ``sometimes, in the heat of battle, you have to do things you don't want to do.''

Asked whether he would eventually back Hunter's bill, McKeon hedged: ``Never say never.''

Gallegly recently became the latest GOP defector, announcing his support for Hunter's bill. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

``I have been a supporter of free markets all my life,'' said Gallegly, who experienced a blackout firsthand in April when he was marooned for an hour in his 18th-floor district office in Oxnard.

``But I'm not convinced that we have a true free market among generators and wholesalers selling power in California. The prices they are charging appear to be beyond a fair profit. For consumers, this is not really a free market either. They don't have a choice whether or not to use electricity.''

Hunter's bill is also supported by GOP Reps. Darrell Issa, R-San Clemente, and Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, R-Escondido, whose San Diego County constituents - along with Hunter's last year - were the first in California to bear the brunt of a crisis spawned by a failed state effort to deregulate electric utilities.

The plan has also been endorsed by state officials and legislators who are seeking price relief as they deal directly with the crisis.

Besides McKeon and Lewis, Southland Republicans still standing with Bush include Reps. David Dreier, R-Covina; Stephen Horn, R-Lakewood; Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar; Ken Calvert, R-Riverside; and Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs.

Democrats backing Hunter's proposed temporary price cap intervention by the Feds include Reps. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills; Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills; Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles; Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena; Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles; Hilda Solis, D-El Monte; Grace Napolitano, D-Montebello; Jane Harman, D-Redondo Beach; Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Torrance and Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino.

Waxman welcomed Gallegly's support.

``It's important for Californians to be united on this issue,'' Waxman said. ``A flawed deregulation effort allowed out-of-state generators to take advantage of the situation and charge unconscionable prices. We want something done here on the federal level.''

Solis said the energy crunch is the only topic on the minds of her constituents, many of whom are having problems paying rising energy costs.

``It's real basic,'' she said. ``Everywhere I go in my district, people say, 'Hilda, what about my electric bill?' and 'Hilda, what are you going to do to fix this?' ''

Solis said she is also concerned about the fate of the 2,000 people employed by Southern California Edison at its Rosemead headquarters and of workers at other local firms that depend on Edison and its employees for their livelihoods.

When it comes to the energy crisis, Southern California Republican House members are on the hot seat in more ways than one. All of them represent districts served by the nearly bankrupt Edison and many of their constituents live in regions where reliable electricity and air conditioning are absolute summer necessities.

Lewis represents such superheated summer locales as Victorville and Barstow.

McKeon's constituency includes Palmdale and Lancaster while Calvert's Inland Empire district encompasses most of western Riverside County.

In Bono's district, officials in Palm Springs and other Coachella Valley communities have designated school gymnasiums as emergency cooling centers.

GOP incumbents will also have to stand for re-election in 2002 in districts that are being reapportioned by the Democrat-dominated state Legislature. Horn, McKeon and Dreier have been reported as prime targets in the Democratic remapping.

By contrast, most area House Democrats represent all or part of Los Angeles, where their constituents have so far been protected from blackouts and spiraling bills. The city-owned Department of Water and Power, exempted from the deregulation mess, has been producing excess electricity during the crisis.

Aided by Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, R-Mo., who last week led a rally of West Coast House members demanding action by the Energy Department and FERC, Democrats have also been working to cast the Bush administration as the heavy in the crisis.

They allege an uncaring attitude toward California, which backed Al Gore, and undue influence by energy producers based in Texas, the president's home state.

Republican House leaders, including Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., counter that Californians are reaping the results of their own disastrous experiment in deregulation, stifling environmental regulation and eight years of neglect of national energy issues by the Bill Clinton administration.

``Price controls would be a mistake,'' said Dreier. ``They discourage both production and conservation.''

But Dreier also expressed concern over spiraling costs. ``We obviously want to do everything we can to see that price gouging doesn't take place,'' Dreier said.

``Price controls won't create one additional watt of power,'' said Calvert. ``We need to get more power on the grid. We also need to be honest with people. We're going to have this problem for one to two years.''

McKeon said he received an even more glum assessment from Vice President Dick Cheney, Bush's designated point man, during a Wednesday meeting designed to encourage California House members to stay the Bush course.

``I don't think a short, quick solution is going to work,'' said McKeon. ``The vice president told us it will take 20 years to fix this mess.''