Customers rallied on Thursday outside the Connecticut Capitol to draw attention to their high utility bills.

“We’re mad,” said Cindy Jordan, who organized the protest. “Our electric bills are outrageous. The cost of living in this state has risen to a point where people are angry. I think this was the final nail in the coffin.”

It comes after residents across the state said they’ve seen their electricity bills go up by hundreds, if not thousands over the summer.

Utility customers said one of their major complaints is from the public benefits charges.

The utility companies have said they’re using that extra charge to recover costs from the pandemic and to invest in electric vehicle programs.

“I don’t think it’s fair, because many of us are doing the right thing by paying our bills are we go,” said Elaine Starr, a protestor. “I don’t ask for help, but then I have to take on more jobs and responsibilities to make ends meet.”

On top of that, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved a rate hike for United Illuminating and Eversource customers last month. Eversource said that would add an extra $3 to the average customer’s bill.

Last month, the organizer of a petition calling for the public benefits charge to be removed told News 8 the “insane” bill are more than most people’s mortgages.

“The disconnect between the governor and his citizens is just astronomical…Everyone is very very very upset about it,” Scott Pearson said.

State Senate President Martin Looney (D-District 11) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-District 137) said in a joint statement that “The only thing smaller than the turnout for this political stunt is the handful of dollars the Republican bailout of utility companies will save ratepayers.”

“Democrats will do what we always do: roll up our sleeves, govern, and work to make life better for the people we serve,” they wrote.

On Thursday morning, UI spokesperson Sarah Wall Fliotsos shared the following statement with News 8:

“We understand the increased costs of policymakers’ public policy initiatives in the Public Benefits Charge have been difficult for our customers, particularly over the summer due to increased usage in Connecticut’s hottest month on record. But we also know that continuing to defer these costs will only result in higher bills next year, and that ‘kicking the can down the road’ is, in fact, why customers experienced rate shock this summer.

“To mitigate rate shock like this going forward, we urge PURA to return to forward-looking forecasts that stabilized electric bills for decades, and we ask that legislators consider these bill impacts for the programs they may implement during future legislative sessions.”

In a statement to News 8, an Eversource spokesperson said the company is working with the state to provide “rate stability and predictability.”

“While high energy usage was the primary driver of the significantly higher bills customers recently saw, the corresponding rate increase that began July 1 was a result of Connecticut delaying payments on costs that could have been paid more predictably in the past, an effect of kicking the can down the road,” the statement reads. “With milder temperatures and lower humidity over the last several weeks expected to continue, customers can also expect to see a decrease in their electric bills.”