Phase II Debt Relief

Earlier this year, Governor Hochul announced a $672 million program (“Phase II”) to pay off past-due utility bills for 478,000 residential households and 56,000 small businesses. This program builds off of the State’s Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program (“Phase I”) which relieved identified low-income customers who were enrolled in their utility’s monthly bill discount program through December 31, 2022.

Phase II credits will begin to hit customer accounts within 90 days and no application or self-attestation is necessary. Below is an FAQ PULP has prepared:

Who is eligible?

  • Residential customers who did not relieve Phase I relief with gas and electric arrears that accrued before May 1, 2022;
  • Small commercial customers with gas and electric arrears that accrued before May 1, 2022*;
  • Some customers that were terminated for non-payment during 2022 are also eligible, although they should contact their utility to confirm eligibility.

Who is ineligible?

  • Identified low-income customers that received relief under Phase I;
  • Residential and small commercial customers with unpaid balances that accrued after May 1, 2022;
  • Municipal electric or gas utility customers.

*A note about small commercial customers: the Public Service Commission (PSC) defines this class of customer as any electric customer under non-residential service classes, with the exception of an electric account that, during the previous 12 months had a combined average demand in excess of 20 kilowatts (kw), or who registered any single demand in excess of 40kw. For a small-commercial gas customer, the PSC has defined those customers as using less the 750 dekatherms of gas per year.

How much will I receive?

  • Credit amounts are capped by utility and service class, see chart for reference;
  • Credits will equal the customer’s actual arrears up to the limit;
  • If a customer owes more than the cap, they will still be responsible for whatever is leftover, including bills unpaid after May 1, 2022.

Am I protected from shutoffs while credits are rolled out?

  • YES! During implementation (at least through March 1, 2023, or 30 days after credits have been applied, whichever is later), terminations of service for non-payment will not occur.

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