Overview
- The Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate (POWER) program will send automatic, one-time mailed checks to qualifying 2024 New York tax filers beginning in September and continuing through December.
- Rebate amounts range from $100 to $200 based on 2024 filing status and income bands, with no application required for eligible full-time residents who filed timely state returns.
- Governor Kathy Hochul secured roughly $1 billion in the 2026 budget to fund the program as immediate aid for households facing high electricity costs.
- The new law also changes utility oversight by limiting some cost recoveries, tying allowed rate growth to inflation, and setting pay benchmarks for utility CEOs, changes whose legality critics and analysts question.
- A federal judge struck down the Climate Change Superfund Act on Sept. 1 and the state is weighing an appeal, a decision that could alter how future climate-related costs are charged to consumers and shape policy next steps.