Connecticut Attorney General William Tong's office has petitioned the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to review its use of artificial intelligence.
Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel sent PURA a joint petition inquiry about the authority’s use of AI. In the petition, Tong said his office knows Connecticut utility operations have used AI systems, but the extent and scope are not publicly available.
“Artificial intelligence adoption is rapidly outpacing our ability to understand and control for risk. It’s not a question of whether our utilities are using AI—we know they are,” Tong said.
Tong cited cybersecurity, data privacy, and other concerns in the petition. The inquiry would mean a report on the full scope of AI systems. It would require PURA to provide details of each AI system, level of human oversight, and protocols governing AI use within the organization.
“We need to know exactly where, why and how it is being deployed, and what safeguards are in place to ensure the security and stability of our critical energy systems and infrastructure,” Tong said.
The petition outlines a detailed list of information the Attorney General’s office is requesting. That includes potential use of AI in customer and operations systems, metering infrastructure or maintenance technology in power plants. It also requests information on third-party vendors.
Connecticut Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said the review is needed to understand how the tools are being used. Coleman said the review could help to identify potential risks and secure sensitive customer information.
“AI and other technological innovations have the potential to improve operations and promote efficiencies that can lead to cost-savings for customers; however, those opportunities cannot come at the expense of safety, reliability, or hard-fought consumer protections,” Coleman said. “As the use of AI increases, regulatory oversight of its implementation with respect to essential, everyday utility services cannot fall behind.”
