Maryland residents who have been struggling to pay utility bills throughout the COVID-19 pandemic should soon see some relief, according to the state’s Public Service Commission.

The commission announced Tuesday that $83 million in grants will be distributed to residential customers’ bill arrearages as required by the federal Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families (RELIEF) Act. The funds will help alleviate the $276 million of debt in gas and electric owed by the state’s utility customers who were unable to pay during the pandemic due to hardship, loss of employment, or reduction of work hours and income, according to the commission.

“Using the RELIEF Act funding to pay down or eliminate past due balances will go a long way towards ensuring that no Marylander loses essential utility services as we emerge from this pandemic,” Jason Stanek, chairman of the commission, said in a statement.

The grants will be distributed to customers who have received energy assistance it the last four years, those with certified medical needs, and customers with old arrearages. The aid will appear as a credit on customers’ utility bills “in the coming months,” the commission said.

“We applaud the work of the General Assembly and the Commission recognizing the plight of consumers facing utility arrearages during these difficult times,” David S. Lapp from the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, an independent state agency representing the state’s consumers of utility services, said in a statement. “Eliminating and reducing consumer arrearages will provide critical relief to many consumers. We urge the utilities to act expeditiously to apply the funds to customer accounts.”

The commission also extended the moratorium prohibiting utilities from terminating services for customers who have received energy assistance within the past four years, demonstrate a medical need, or remain on a payment plan for their utilities. The moratorium now extends to November 1 from an original date of June 30. According to The Washington Post, shut-offs for other customers were allowed to resume last November.

The state aid is part of a relief package passed by the state’s General Assembly in February and signed by Gov. Larry Hogan.