AUGUSTA — State Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, said Tuesday he is looking forward to working on the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee when 127th Session starts up in earnest in 2015.

 “Rising energy costs are one of the top issues Maine families and businesses are dealing with, and we must put in place policy to bring those costs down,” Mason said in a prepared statement.

The committee assignment for Mason is a departure from protocol as Mason was also recently elected the state Senate’s Republican Majority Leader. In the past majority leaders have not been assigned to committees.

“It is important to me to be involved in policy decisions as much as possible — after all, that is why our constituents send us to Augusta,” Mason said.

The committee’s jurisdiction includes energy resources, efficiency and  conservation; and the electric industry, including supply, transmission and distribution. It also oversees the natural gas industry, along with telecommunications, which involves mobile, telephone, Internet, broadband and cable television services.

Mason is currently serving his third term in the Maine Senate and represents District 22, which includes of Litchfield, Wayne, Durham, Greene, Leeds, Lisbon, Sabattus, Turner, and Wales.