Rep. Waxman joined with 32 California Democratic colleagues to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to substantially increase the refund to California proposed by a FERC judge for energy company overcharges. The judge had found that California was due $1.8 billion in refunds, but owed energy suppliers $3 billion. Some energy companies have admitted that they manipulated energy markets during the 2000-2001 energy crisis, and evidence has consistently indicated that California consumers have been gouged tens of billions of dollars by the energy industry.