Hochul unveils energy rebate checks for more than 8M New York households

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Monday unveiled energy rebate checks for more than 8 million households in her state.

More than 8 million households in New York are going to be sent energy rebate checks worth a maximum of $200 beginning next Monday, with the stream of checks ending in December.

“As Washington Republicans continue to send the cost of everything from utility bills to gas and groceries soaring, I’ll never stop working to address the rising cost of living for New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a release.

“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.”

According to the release, a total of 8.2 million households will receive the checks.

The New York state budget features “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 President Trump’s war in Iran,” the Hochul release said.

The release said that people who jointly file their taxes and make less than $150,000 per year will receive $200 in their checks, while joint filers who have incomes in the range of $150,000 to $300,000 will get $150. People who file their taxes by themselves and make less than $150,000 per year are going to get $100.

During the war in Iran, which recently stretched past the six-month mark, energy costs have gone up as the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, has been closed amid the conflict. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. on Monday morning was about $4.32, up from about $3.18 at this time last year.