Mills Administration Announces All $450 Winter Energy
Relief Checks Have Been Mailed
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Mills Administration announced today that all $450 Winter Energy Relief Payments have been mailed. The Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) has processed and mailed the $450 payments to all 876,187 eligible Maine taxpayers, beating the goal of having all checks mailed before the end of March 2023.
“I hope this $450 payment will provide Maine people with a small measure of relief from the burden of increased energy costs this winter,” said Governor Janet Mills. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to pursue policies that will bring down energy costs in the long run, including weatherization, more efficient heating and cooling technologies, and diversifying our energy sources with clean, renewable energy to lower the price of electricity.”
“We are pleased we were able to process these much-needed energy payments quickly to get money into the hands of Maine residents during the home heating season,” said Kirsten Figueroa, Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
The $450 payments were part of the Governor's Emergency Winter Energy Relief Plan to help Maine people and their families stay warm, safe and secure this winter amid record high energy prices. It passed the Legislature in January with two-thirds bipartisan support.
In addition to providing $450 relief checks to most Maine people, the measure also supplements home heating assistance for low-income consumers, provides emergency fuel assistance to prevent people and families from running out of heating fuel, and funds short-term emergency housing to address homelessness during the winter months, in addition to other measures.
Qualifying recipients were determined by filing their 2021 Maine tax return by October 31, 2022; being a full-year resident of the State for tax year 2021; not being claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return for the tax year; and a reported Federal adjusted income (FAGI) for the tax year 2021 of less than: $200,000 for individuals filing a married joint return or surviving spouses permitted to file a joint return; $150,000 for an individual filing as a head of household; or $100,000 for a single individual or a married individual filing a separate return.
Maine taxpayers who filed their qualifying 2021 return and have not received their winter energy relief payments can check the status of their payment on the Department of Administrative and Financial Services website at: https://portal.maine.gov/refundstatus/payment.
For other information on the Winter Energy Relief Payments visit the FAQ website at: www.maine.gov/energyrelief
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