New York residents are set to receive a welcome financial boost.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced that the long-promised electricity bill rebate checks will begin reaching eligible New Yorkers later this month. The money comes through the Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate, or POWER, program, which was approved in May.
Beginning Sept. 21, the state will start issuing rebates to roughly 8.2 million qualifying households statewide. Payments will continue through December, arriving as colder weather and rising home-heating expenses begin to put added pressure on family budgets.
The electricity rebates were included in New York’s current state budget, with Hochul allocating $1 billion to help millions of residents manage their energy costs.
POWER rebate payments will range from $100 to $200, depending on a household’s income. Single tax filers earning less than $150,000 are slated to receive $100, while joint filers with income between $150,000 and $300,000 will get $150.
The program’s maximum $200 payment will go to joint filers whose income is below $150,000.
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To be eligible for a New York electricity bill rebate, residents must meet the following requirements:
“Too many families are struggling with rising household energy bills and soaring gas prices at the pump — and that’s why we’re putting money directly back in New Yorkers’ pockets by sending energy rebate checks to millions of families as part of our affordability agenda,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement.
Since 2021, utility bills have been rising due to costly grid upgrades, growing demand from data center consumption and sharply rising rates.
According to a recent report, New Yorkers pay the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country — trailing only Hawaii and California.
New York’s residential electricity prices were an eye-watering 29.93 cents per kilowatt-hour in May, based on the latest federal data, the analysis found.
New York’s prices were a whopping 62% higher than the national average, nearly double Florida’s and over 80% higher than Texas’. Electricity prices in the Empire State rose 12% from a year earlier — twice the rate of increase for the US average.