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WASHINGTON — Government investigators said Friday they want to find out whether a former Enron Corp. executive improperly hid the company’s stake in three California wind power farms. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which launched the investigation, said it also will hold hearings on whether the three small power producers should lose their licenses to sell wholesale electricity to U.S. utilities. 

“If these allegations are true, they conflict in material respects with the representations made by the small power producers,” FERC said in its order. 

The three Enron-affiliated California wind power farms — Sky River, Victory Garden and Zond Windsystems — were recertified by FERC in June 1997 as qualified to sell wholesale electricity to U.S. utilities, several months after Enron acquired Portland General Electric utility. 

As part of that recertification, officials at each farm told FERC that Enron would transfer ownership interests to partnerships not affiliated with Enron. A 1978 federal law requires electric utilities to buy renewable energy from FERC-approved facilities owned by independent power producers. 

Under that law, intended to lessen dependence on foreign oil by cutting demand for traditional fossil fuels, FERC designates which facilities qualify and oversees the rates that the producers charge buyers. 

In an eight-page order issued Thursday, FERC said that it was following up on “serious allegations” by the Justice Department earlier this month in its criminal case against former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow.