<p>SACRAMENTO -- A Senate committee Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Gov. Gray Davis' closest energy adviser, S. David Freeman, to lead the state power authority, but not without intense scrutiny of the nominee by an Orange County senator.</p>
<p>Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, laid into Freeman on a number of issues, including Freeman's late reporting of his financial interests in energy companies and the high price of the energy contracts he negotiated last spring.</p>