A NEW round of winter relief checks are in the mail today, and if you qualify, you’ll soon be $450 richer.

Maine residents should keep checking their mailbox because the first round of 200,000 checks were sent out this week.

Governor Janet Mills said around 200,000 checks will be mailed each week until all eligible taxpayers have earned their $450 winter energy relief payments.

These payments come courtesy of Mills’s Emergency Energy Relief Plan, which intends to help residents as they battle sky-high energy costs this winter.

An estimated 880,000 Maine residents are eligible for the payments.

“High energy prices have made staying warm more difficult for Maine families this winter,” Mills said.

Read more about payments

“I thank the Legislature for approving this emergency measure and look forward to working with lawmakers to implement policies that will bring down energy costs and improve energy efficiency in the long-term,” Mills continued.

Each mailed check will likely take a few days to show up at your doorstep, but the majority of Maine residents should receive their check by the end of March.

WHO QUALIFIES

Maine residents do not need to do anything in order to secure the $450 payments. 

However, they must meet a special set of criteria.