Now that the heat is on for the summer season, those who have fans and/or air-conditioning will be cranking them for all they're worth, trying to keep cool.

And that means in addition to all your other items in the house that run on electricity, your meter is going to be spinning fast. And that could hit you in the wallet over the summer months. We recently published an article on a possible electric rate increase in New York State upwards of 13 to 22 percent. If it gets approved by state regulators, it would take effect on May 1st, 2023.

Rate increase or not, with the increase in price for gasoline, food, and just about everything else you pay for, some may be struggling to pay their utility bill. On Thursday (June 16th), New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to help low-income customers pay off past utility bills.

$567 million dollars are being made available to assist people in New York State pay off their old gas or electric utility bills. Governor Hochul's announcement states that this assistance is "a one-time credit to customers enrolled in the Energy Affordability Program that will eliminate unpaid utility bills that have accrued through May 1, 2022. The program also authorizes the same relief for any eligible low-income customers that enroll in EAP by December 31, 2022."

The one-time credit won't require any action by existing low-income customers who are enrolled in the Energy Affordability Program, and the credit should be applied no later than August 1st, 2022. Also, any eligible customers who are enrolled in the affordability program by December 31st, 2022, may also qualify.

For more information, visit the NYS Governor Hochul website.

via New York State Governor Kathy Hochul

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