A deferral is not a deal, Gov. Healey. Nor is “temporary relief” a real solution.

But Maura Healey is hoping Massachusetts ratepayers ignore the pricey elephant in the room as she 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.

The details were set for her Thursday night State of the Commonwealth address, but the gist is this: those “rate deferrals” will have to be paid back.

What a bargain.

“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.”

And by “charges off of bills” she means “putting them right back in a few 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.

This “initiative” just buys ratepayers some time to pay off those big first-quarter bills. Then, while shelling out for air conditioning and fan use this summer, they can also tackle the remainder of the winter bills. This is only a real relief if ratepayers win the lottery before the spring.

On the one hand, they’ll only have to pay the 10% “break.” On the other hand, they’re only getting 10% off now. Either way, there’s no cause to break out the noisemakers.

Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Paul Craney wasn’t having it, saying 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.

This recalls Healey’s attempt at rate relief last year when Bay State customers of Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil got a $50 credit on their April utility bills.

“The governor told us that she wanted us to look under every stone and find every possibility of where to find money for customers,” Tepper said last March.

The solution isn’t hiding under a stone, it’s in plain sight: adjust climate mandates and policies so people can afford energy today.

“Affordability” is the buzzword du jour, and sadly, Healey’s ratepayer “relief” doesn’t offer concrete solutions for Massachusetts citizens struggling with energy bills on top of housing costs, food prices and taxes.

Healey’s “relief” is merely a reprieve, and a short-lived one at that. The governor must do better by Bay State ratepayers.