NYS: 3M energy rebate checks delivered, another 5.2M to be sent in coming weeks

Total of 8.2 million New Yorkers receiving checks up to $200

Information from the Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul 

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that 3 million New Yorkers have already received their energy rebate checks of up to $200, with another 5.2 million checks being sent in coming weeks.

Hochul said, “Our energy rebate checks are just one of many ways we’re helping families address rising costs – along with our ratepayer protection plan, enrolling more New Yorkers in utility bill discount programs, expanding access to affordable childcare, expanding the child tax credit, delivering middle class tax cuts, and more.”

Hochul’s enacted budget included a one-time $1 billion “Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate” (POWER) to help provide needed relief in the face of federal tariffs that have increased the cost of living across the board; and the war in Iran, which has caused the price at the pump to skyrocket.

POWER checks provide $200 to joint filers with incomes under $150,000 and $150 to joint filers with incomes between $150,000 and $300,000. Single filers with incomes under $150,000 will receive $100. The checks began being mailed Sept. 21 and will continue through December. A total of 8.2 million New Yorkers will receive checks.

There is no need to apply, sign up or do anything to receive a check. The state Tax Department is mailing checks to eligible New Yorkers now. For more information, visit: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/energy-rebate-check.htm.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, “Across the country, we have witnessed a surge in everyday expenses, from healthcare to groceries; the impact has been exponential and has touched so many households. Energy has been no different. Here in New York, ratepayers bear some of the highest utility rates in the nation, placing financial strain on families. This reality is why the Assembly majority fought to make a one-time $1 billion Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate (POWER) a reality.”

Hochul also recently launched a new enrollment push to help more households across New York save up to hundreds of dollars per year on their utility bills through the state’s Energy Affordability Program (EAP). Since that enrollment push launched in mid-September, 50,000 additional households have submitted applications to their utilities. EAP already provides monthly discounts to around 1 million households statewide. State officials estimate that, since the governor expanded the program earlier this year, around 2.5 million more households are eligible but not enrolled. For more information on EAP and how to apply, visit ny.gov/EAP.

Additionally, Hochul’s FY27 enacted budget rewrote the rules and put New York families ahead of big energy companies. At the heart of this effort to modernize the state’s approach to regulating utilities is a commitment to energy affordability. Energy profits are tied to a company’s ability to perform where it matters most: people’s wallets. Utilities are prohibited from passing the costs of lobbying, glossy PR campaigns, political donations, and luxury travel to New York ratepayers. Utility CEOs will have their salaries benchmarked to achieving energy affordability goals set by the Public Service Commission (PSC). And if a utility makes excess profit, that money will be returned to ratepayers.