Just two days after launching her re-election campaign and hours before her State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Maura Healey announced that she will be detailing initiatives to “immediately” reduce heating and electricity bills with a $180 million pledge from existing funds and through rate deferrals.

However, the governor added that the rate deferrals will be recovered by utility companies from ratepayers later this year.

In her Thursday address, Healey says she will detail “several new initiatives” to lower electricity bills by 25% and gas bills by 10% while covering $180 million of the cost of the rate reductions from existing funding sources. Healey’s office says this will result in discounted rates for Massachusetts residents in their February and March bills.

“I called on the utilities to lower bills this winter, and now relief is on the way. Massachusetts customers will see their February and March electric bills reduced by 25 percent and gas bills reduced by 10 percent,” Healey said in a release. “We also know that long term help is needed. That’s why we’re going to keep working every day to bring more energy into our state, oppose rate hikes and get charges off of bills.”

But the $180 million pledged by the governor is coming by way of alternative compliance payments and rate deferrals, which means ratepayers will end up paying the difference of the savings during the warmer, off-peak months.

Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper’s office confirmed with the Herald that utility companies will defer roughly 10% of gas and electric bill payments through February and March with plans to recover those payments from ratepayers between May and October. Some utility companies are even considering recovering those payments with interest.

Tepper’s office says the $180 million in funding from alternative compliance payments, however, will not be collected back from ratepayers.

“The funding can only go toward electric ratepayers and not gas customers. The state is able to cover an estimated 15% reduction in electricity bills with these funds. This is being provided to ratepayers and will not be collected back from customers,” an EEA spokesperson told the Herald.

Healey’s move has been heavily criticized by Massachusetts Republicans.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy blasted Healey for the announcement, calling it a “scam.”

“Maura Healey’s ‘plan’ for energy relief is basically a payday loan scam. Get cash now, pay it back later with interest. Your next Governor should lead with integrity, not lie to you about providing ‘relief’,” Kennealy said in a written statement.

Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Paul Craney says Healey is simply kicking the can down the road rather than actually lowering energy costs. He says high utility bills in Massachusetts are the fault of Healey’s policies and the state’s NetZero by 2050 climate mandate, which favors solar, wind and battery power over natural gas.

“Today, she is simply telling ratepayers she wants to lower energy bills by having high energy bills paid by ratepayers during off peak months. That doesn’t actually lower bills if we simply have to pay for them later,” said Craney. “Massachusetts will only drive down energy costs when the NetZero climate mandate is repealed. The Governor knows this but hopes to fool the public with today’s latest political stunt”

Fellow Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue called the move “political theater” that will deliver “minor relief” in a post to X Thursday morning.

“Political theater will not solve our affordability crisis. The governor promises minor relief to a problem she caused with radical regulations and energy mandates, and guarantees higher bills later,” Minogue said. “We need a new kind of governor who isn’t worried about a re-election, but worried about the problems you and your family face. I’ll be focused on long term solutions to bring our energy costs down for good.”

Republican state Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-22nd Middlesex) posted about the plan to X Thursday, calling it a “joke” and a “Band-Aid.”

“This is an absolute joke. Instead of repealing the climate scam mandates that are causing exploding energy costs, @MassGovernor is using tax dollars to artificially Band-Aid bills for a couple of months – money which was received through the utility companies (ratepayers) due to mandates! She is giving you back your own money and wants a thank you for it! Repeal the mandates!” Lombardo said.

As for GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve, the pledge from Healey is nothing but a “shell game” to mask the state’s energy cost crisis.

“Utility bills didn’t explode by accident, they exploded because of Maura Healey’s policies. Now, instead of owning the damage, she’s proposing a shell game to temporarily mask the problem until she gets through the election. That’s not leadership. It’s damage control,” Shortsleeve said. “Massachusetts doesn’t need half-measures, stopgaps, or election-year gimmicks. Families and small businesses need permanent relief, and that starts by rolling back the state-mandated utility charges and repealing energy mandates that don’t work and only raise prices.”

The administration is celebrating the planned two months of relief. Secretary Tepper calls the plan “strong action” to provide Massachusetts ratepayers relief during the remaining winter months.

“Families cannot support big winter energy bills right now, so we called for more relief,” Tepper said. “Our administration is working to help families make ends meet with $180 million in support, while continuing our advocacy for major reforms. Our energy affordability legislation would deliver lower cost energy in winter months by getting more energy built, getting us a better price, and driving down delivery costs. With energy costs rising nationwide, we’re going to keep calling for strong action in Massachusetts.”

The announcement comes as soaring energy costs remain perhaps the most crucial issue for the Healey-Driscoll re-election campaign to counter, something critics attribute to her climate-driven policies and famously, her stoppage of two natural gas pipelines from coming to Massachusetts as Attorney General.

In November, the governor turned to blaming President Donald Trump for soaring energy and housing costs on his tariffs on Canadian goods. Since then, she also has gone back and forth on whether she stopped two natural gas pipelines from coming to Massachusetts – what many say is a contributor to the high energy costs seen in the Bay State.

Healey says she will provide more details on the plan during her State of the Commonwealth address Thursday night.