New York will send one-time \u201cPOWER checks\u201d to millions of residents to help offset rising utility costs under the new state budget signed this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul.<\/p>\n
The Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate, or POWER Checks, sets aside $1 billion to provide direct payments to 8.2 million New Yorkers whose electric and gas bills have climbed in recent years. The checks are scheduled to go out between September and December and will be based on 2024 state income tax returns.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, joint filers with incomes below $150,000 will receive a $200 check. Joint filers earning between $150,000 and $300,000 will get $150. Single filers with incomes under $150,000 will receive $100.<\/p>\n
Checks will be mailed automatically to full\u2011time state residents who meet the income requirements and filed a 2024 return, according to legislative leaders. Hochul has framed the program as part of a broader effort to make New York more affordable for families coping with higher prices for everything from housing to food.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s going to start showing up in people\u2019s mailboxes,\u201d Hochul said at an event announcing the rebate. \u201cWhen they start seeing those bills come in, they\u2019re going to see this relief come in as well, and know that someone in state government actually cares about them and worries about them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republicans have criticized the late budget and several of its provisions, including the utility rebate.<\/p>\n
State Sen. Joseph Griffo, a Republican from the Mohawk Valley, called the checks an election\u2011year gesture that falls short of the long\u2011term relief residents need.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Yorkers will get an election\u2011year rebate check to help cover the cost of their gas and electric bills. This is not enough,\u201d Griffo said in a recent statement. \u201cPeople deserve a break all the time, not just one time.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a senior center in the Capital Region, Eileen Walters said she welcomes any help, but is not sure she will qualify.<\/p>\n
Walters, who lives on a fixed income and receives only Social Security, said her electric bill has roughly doubled in the past year. She recently switched back to a budget plan that charges her $111 a month, a level she still has trouble keeping up with after previously seeing a bill of about $180.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single utility that I have has gone up,\u201d Walters said. \u201cYou go to pick up a piece of meat, it\u2019s $47 for a pot roast, and you put it right back down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walters said her tax preparer told her she earns so little that she does not have to file a state return, which she worries could exclude her from the rebate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t make enough, and I don\u2019t pay in taxes because I don\u2019t make enough,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople that are on such little income should be a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advocates for low\u2011income residents say Walters is not alone. Seniors and disabled New Yorkers who live primarily on Social Security often fall below the filing threshold and may not be captured by tax\u2011based relief programs, even as they struggle to afford basic utilities.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers who crafted the POWER Checks program say tying the rebates to tax returns allows the state to quickly reach most households without a separate application process, similar to previous inflation\u2011relief payments. But they also acknowledge there are outstanding questions about how people who do not file taxes might be helped.<\/p>\n
Speaker Carl Heastie and Assembly Energy Committee Chair Didi Barrett said in a joint statement that the rebates are aimed at \u201cfamilies struggling with rising utility rates,\u201d and called the program an important step toward easing the burden of higher energy costs.<\/p>\n
For Walters, the bigger question is whether relief will ever match the reality of her monthly bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have a choice,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to pay, or you don\u2019t have electric. That becomes the priority before you put food on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
State officials say more details about how and when the POWER Checks will be distributed will be released as the Department of Taxation and Finance prepares the payments for later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York will send one-time \u201cPOWER checks\u201d to millions of residents to help offset rising utility costs under…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":829704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[40737,5229,41034,17547,40736,405,403,17050,50,5226,5225,5228,17545,5227,80,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5284],"class_list":["post-829703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-albany-capital-region","tag-america","tag-app-latest-local-state-politics-stories","tag-app-ny-state-of-politics","tag-corey-james","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-state","tag-news","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-ny-state-of-politics","tag-nyc","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-vod"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116657030928772076","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}