Millions of New Yorkers are Getting “Utility Relief” Checks from the State

By Lucas Wisenthal

If you were both a full-time New Yorker and a taxpayer in 2024, your bank account is probably about to see a (nominal) boost.

This fall, to compensate for the rising cost of utilities, the state government will mail checks of up to $200 to New Yorkers. According to Gothamist, more than 8 million of us will benefit from the $1 billion the state Assembly and Senate agreed to put toward these payments. The rebates will be sent automatically, so no action is necessary. (You can check your eligibility here.)

People who are married and filed jointly with household incomes from $150,000 to $300,000 in 2024 will receive checks for $150. Qualified surviving spouses in the same income bracket will get checks for $200. Those whose income falls below $150,000 will receive checks for $200.

Utility costs for New Yorkers have risen sharply in recent years. We’re paying almost 40 percent more for electricity than we did in 2019, and Con Ed is set to increase electric bills by 10.4 percent and gas bills by 15.8 percent by 2028. Per the New York Post, that will amount to $600 more per year in household bills.

“We are trying to provide some measure of relief to taxpayers who are bearing the brunt of high energy costs across the board, whether it is from their gas bill, their electric bill [or] their bill at the pump,” State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat, told Gothamist.

The rebates are part of the $268.5 billion state budget, which lawmakers approved late Wednesday.