ALBANY- Lawmakers in the State Assembly have proposed direct rebates of up to $500 for New Yorkers to help ease the burden of rising utility bills.
The proposal, included in the chamber’s one-house state budget plan, would provide a $500 utility rebate to residents earning $150,000 or less. Households with incomes between $150,000 and $300,000 would receive a $300 rebate under the plan.
Assembly Democrats say the rebates are intended to provide immediate relief as residents across the state face increasing energy costs, including in the Hudson Valley and Catskills from Central Hudson, Orange and Rockland, and NYSEG.
Republicans say that utility rates have risen faster in New York than in other places in the country because of the state’s expensive green-energy policies including the Climate Leadership and Community Protecting Act and other electrification mandates and the forced closure of generation plants such as Indian Point.
In addition to the rebate checks, the Assembly plan would impose a two-year moratorium on utility rate increases and establish a blue-ribbon commission to study the causes of rising utility rates and recommend long-term solutions.
The Assembly’s proposal totals around $2.6 billion.
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