First round of $450 relief checks going out eligible Mainer this week, department says

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - An update now on when Mainers can expect to see those $450 winter energy relief payments in their mailboxes.

According to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the first round of payments is going out later this week.

Then, the goal is to mail out 200,000 checks per week until all of the payments are processed.

The department’s commissioner, Kirsten Figueroa, appeared in front of lawmakers in Augusta on Tuesday.

Figueroa said they hope to get payments to all of the more than 870,000 eligible Mainers before the end of March.

That announcement coming at the start of this afternoon’s public hearings on the governor’s supplemental budget for 2023.

Randall Liberty, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, joined Figueroa as one of the first to testify in favor of the legislation.

The DOC has a number of initiatives included in the supplemental budget.

Among them, a request for $1.37 million dollars to support increased fuel costs across four facilities.

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