Over 8 million New Yorkers will receive one-time energy rebate checks between September and December 2026 to offset expensive utility bills, with amounts depending on filing status and income.
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Over 8 million New Yorkers will receive one-time energy rebate checks between September and December 2026 to offset expensive utility bills. According to Governor Kathy Hochul, the Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate, or POWER, should deliver $1 billion in total relief, based on taxpayers’ 2024 state returns.
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To qualify, residents must have filed a 2024 state tax return on time, maintained full-year residency, and can’t have been a dependent of another taxpayer that year. The state tax department will determine eligibility automatically, and amounts will depend on filing status and income:
Joint filers and surviving spouses making under $150,000 get $200
Joint filers making $150,000 to $300,000 get $150
Single filers and heads of household making $150,000 or less get $100
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If a taxpayer thinks they were incorrectly bypassed for a payment or got less than they should have, they’ll be able to request a review from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, although the specifics have yet to be announced.
“When so many are already burdened by the high costs of living, the Assembly Majority is committed to putting money back into the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement about the fiscal year 2026/2027 budget. The POWER program took shape during budget negotiations between the Legislature and Hochul.
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The rebate was established in the budget’s “big ugly” revenue bill, S9009C/A10009C. According to the governor, the intent was lowering costs for hardworking families with spiking utility rates.
The POWER credit will be exempt from state and local income taxes, according to the budget legislation.
Not all legislators agree that the rebate is the right approach to lower energy bills. Republican State Senator Pam Helming argued that POWER doesn’t address structural problems in the energy sector.
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“While this budget promotes temporary gimmicks like the so-called POWER rebates, it does little to address the underlying policies and mandates that continue driving up utility costs and taxes,” she said in a statement.
Indeed, skeptics have questioned whether small, one-time checks can offer enough real relief for most families to justify reducing state resources for other services like food aid or healthcare.