Rebecca Martinez

People who live in Connecticut currently pay the second-highest electricity prices in the country, placing an undue financial strain on families, businesses, and communities. Our goal in the legislature is to implement policies that lower prices and enhance transparency that would benefit all ratepayers.

There are two important pieces of legislation, House Bill 1531 and House Bill 7206, aimed at tackling the rising cost of utility bills while ensuring greater accountability for public utilities.  Both bills passed out of the Government Administration and Elections Committee and now move to the House and Senate floors for further consideration.
 
These proposals are designed to:

• Increase public-utility transparency by making them subject to the Freedom of Information Act for the regulated parts of their business
• Reduce monopoly power and consolidation by preventing utility companies from owning both gas and electric utilities
• Strengthen oversight to ensure our utilities are acting in the best interest of consumers and not incurring unnecessary costs
• Ensuring utility capital projects are properly vetted to ensure they are necessary, the least costly, the best alternative, and best serve our future energy needs

These measures give the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Connecticut Siting Council more tools to better regulate utility companies and reduce our energy costs.

Strengthening these regulatory bodies is a crucial step toward protecting consumers from excessive costs and fostering a more fair and sustainable energy system for households and businesses across the state.

Through legislative action and public engagement, we are committed to ensuring a more affordable and equitable energy future for everyone.

Below is a breakdown of your electric bill. 

Last week, the AI Caucus held a press conference to outline our legislative priorities for the ongoing 2025 session. We are urging for the passage of Senate Bill 2, An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence. Senate Bill 2 calls for:

1. Transparency and accountability;
2. Training Connecticut's workforce to use artificial intelligence;
3. Criminalization of non-consensual intimate images.

I am excited to get to work with our caucus and discuss the best ways to protect our residents from the potential harms of AI with my colleagues. Senate Bill 2 will establish groundbreaking AI regulations and pave the way for ethical AI development and education. Let's get to work!