EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — With El Paso residents continuing to face high electricity bills during another summer of extreme heat, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, is renewing her call for Congress to pass a package of bills designed to reduce energy costs, expand assistance programs and increase oversight of utility companies.
Escobar announced her support for three pieces of legislation that she said would address rising energy costs through utility regulation, expanded financial assistance and investments in lower-cost energy sources.
Families should not have to choose between keeping the lights on, cooling their homes during dangerous heat, and paying for other basic necessities,” Escobar said in a statement. “At a time when utility bills are rising, Congress should be focused on delivering meaningful relief—not protecting excessive utility profits or making it harder and more expensive to build the affordable energy our communities need.
The legislative package includes the Lowering Utility Bills Act, introduced by Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, which would establish stricter federal and state standards for how investor-owned utilities and electric transmission providers determine their authorized rates of return. According to Escobar’s office, the proposal is intended to increase oversight of utility rate-setting and prevent consumers from paying unnecessarily high electricity bills.
The second proposal, the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, sponsored by Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, would expand and modernize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The bill would broaden eligibility and better account for the increasing financial burden of extreme weather, helping more low-income households pay for heating and air conditioning.
Escobar said the measure is particularly relevant for communities like El Paso, where prolonged periods of triple-digit temperatures make access to affordable cooling a public health concern.
The third measure, the Energy Bills Relief Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Levin of California and Sean Casten of Illinois, seeks to reduce household energy costs through several initiatives. The legislation would restore clean energy tax credits created in 2022 that were later eliminated, encourage utilities to invest in more efficient energy systems, provide assistance to families at risk of having their electricity disconnected and strengthen protections against energy price gouging.
The proposal also would require large energy users, including data centers, to cover a greater share of the costs associated with the electricity they consume rather than shifting those expenses to residential customers. It also includes provisions intended to increase community input on energy projects.
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Escobar also criticized actions taken by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, arguing that the rollback of clean energy incentives and delays in permitting renewable energy projects could lead to higher long-term energy costs.
Her office pointed to the phaseout of clean energy tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as delays affecting renewable energy projects, including offshore wind developments in Texas, as examples of policies she said could reduce affordable electricity generation.
The legislation would need approval from both chambers of Congress before it could become law.
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