UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of

                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


          Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 6, 2003


                               CALPINE CORPORATION

                            (A Delaware Corporation)

                        Commission File Number: 001-12079

                  I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 77-0212977


                           50 West San Fernando Street

                           San Jose, California 95113

                            Telephone: (408) 995-5115





ITEM 12.  RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

     On May 6, 2003, the Registrant  issued the press release attached hereto as
Exhibit 99.1  announcing  that it is providing a pre-earnings  update on several
items,  including  liquidity,  refinancing  and first quarter and full-year 2003
earnings.


SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                               CALPINE CORPORATION


                          By: /s/ Charles B. Clark, Jr.
                              -------------------------
                              Charles B. Clark, Jr.
                      Senior Vice President and Controller
                            Chief Accounting Officer

Date:  May 7, 2003






EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS RELEASE                                              CONTACTS: 408-995-5115
                                        Media Relations: Katherine Potter, X1168
                                         Investor Relations: Rick Barraza, X1125


                      CALPINE PROVIDES FIRST QUARTER UPDATE

     (SAN JOSE, CALIF.) May 6, 2003 - Calpine Corporation [NYSE:CPN],  a leading
North  American  power  company,   today   announced  that  it  is  providing  a
pre-earnings update on several items, including liquidity, refinancing and first
quarter and full-year 2003 earnings. The company has scheduled its first quarter
earnings conference call for Tuesday, May 13, 2003, at 8:30 a.m. PDT, to discuss
these items in further detail.

LIQUIDITY AND REFINANCING

     As previously  announced,  Calpine has identified three major components of
its 2003 liquidity  enhancing program:  the monetization of certain of its power
sales contracts,  the potential sale of certain power generating  facilities and
the financing for its California  peaking  facilities.  These  transactions  are
expected to generate  net  proceeds of  approximately  $1.7 billion that will be
used  to  fund  capital  requirements  for its  existing  construction  program,
refinancing and general corporate purposes.

     Progress towards the completion of these transactions continues as planned.
Last week,  the company  announced  the sale of an interest in the  115-megawatt
King  City  Power  Plant  for  approximately  $82  million  and is  nearing  the
completion of monetizing several power sales contracts.  At the end of the first
quarter,  liquidity totaled  approximately  $615 million.  This was comprised of
approximately  $524 million of cash (cash and equivalents and current portion of
restricted  cash) and $91  million of  borrowing  capacity  under the  company's
various credit facilities.

     Calpine   continues  to  work  closely  with  its  lenders  on  a  two-year
refinancing of its $400 million and $600 million working capital facilities. The
company expects to complete this refinancing in the near term.

FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS UPDATE AND 2003 GUIDANCE

     Operating   income  for  the  quarter  was  in-line   with  the   company's
expectations  before  certain  non-cash  charges.  On-peak  spark  spreads  were
slightly  ahead of plan in  certain  markets,  but were  offset  by  unscheduled
outages and  non-cash  charges.  These  non-cash  charges  include  reserves for
equipment repairs totaling  approximately $25 million,  for which the company is
pursuing  warranty  claims,  and  approximately  $22 million of foreign exchange
translation   losses--representing   a  loss  per  share  of  $0.05  and  $0.04,
respectively.  The foreign exchange  translation  losses  recognized into income
were  transaction-related and were due mainly to a strong Canadian dollar in the
quarter. As a result of this strong foreign currency, the recorded book value of
the  company's  net foreign  assets  increased  by  approximately  $78  million,
generating  unrealized  gains that were recorded in equity on the balance sheet.
For the quarter, the company expects to record a loss of approximately $0.12 per
share.  Calpine  stated  that it  remains  comfortable  with  the  current  2003
full-year earnings consensus of $0.41 per share.

     On April 17,  2003,  the company  reported to the  Securities  and Exchange
Commission  that  PricewaterhouseCoopers  LLC (PwC) would serve as the company's
independent public accountants for 2003. As a result of this change in auditors,
the company has asked PwC to undertake the review of its first quarter for 2003.
Consequently,  the company will not be able to file its Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the First  Quarter 2003 by the May 15, 2003 filing  deadline,  but will
file the report following the completion of PwC's review.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

     Calpine will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, May 13, to
discuss in further  detail the financial  and operating  results for the quarter
ended March 31, 2003. To  participate  in the  teleconference,  in a listen-only
mode,  dial  1-888-603-6685  at  least  five  minutes  before  the  start of the
conference  call. In addition,  Calpine will simulcast the conference  call live
via the Internet. The web cast can be accessed and will be available for 30 days
on the Investor Relations page of Calpine's website at www.calpine.com.

ABOUT CALPINE

     Based in San Jose, Calif.,  Calpine Corporation is a leading North American
power company that is dedicated to providing wholesale and industrial  customers
with clean,  efficient,  natural  gas-fired power  generation.  It generates and
markets power from plants it develops, owns, leases and operates in 23 states in
the United States, three provinces in Canada and in the United Kingdom.  Calpine
is also the world's largest producer of renewable geothermal energy, and it owns
approximately  one trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves
in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1984 and is publicly
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPN. For more information
about Calpine, visit its website at www.calpine.com.

     This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the  Securities  Act of 1933, as amended,  and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,  including statements such as those
concerning Calpine  Corporation's ("the Company") expected financial performance
and  its  strategic  and  operational   plans,  as  well  as  all   assumptions,
expectations,  predictions,  intentions or beliefs about future events.  You are
cautioned that any such forward-looking  statements are not guarantees of future
performance  and  involve a number of risks and  uncertainties  that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the  forward-looking  statements,  such
as, but not limited to risks  identified  from  time-to-time  in our reports and
registration   statements  filed  with  the  SEC,  including  the  risk  factors
identified  in our Annual  Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  December  31,
2002,  which  can be found on the  Company's  web site at  www.calpine.com.  All
information  set forth in this  news  release  is as of  today's  date,  and the
Company undertakes no duty to update this information.