Cash for Appliances: California Program Rules

California has been allocated $35.2 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to participate in the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP). The California Energy Commission will administer the SEEARP that will provide rebates to consumers for purchasing ENERGY STAR®-qualified home appliances during the rebate period.

The rebate program will:

* Save energy by replacing inefficient appliances with more efficient ones.
* Make rebates for efficient appliances available to residential consumers.
* Leverage the ARRA funds with existing rebate programs and partnerships.

The California Appliance Rebate program roll out is expected in early spring 2010. The Energy Commission has submitted its proposed Appliance Rebate Program design to the U.S. Department of Energy on October 14, 2009.

Three residential appliance categories were selected to be eligible to receive rebates:

1. clothes washers (proposed rebate $100)
2. refrigerators (proposed rebate $75)
   
3. room air conditioners (proposed rebate $50)

These rebates are in addition to existing rebates offered by California's utilities or appliance manufacturers. The Energy Commission used the list of "pre-screened" appliances from the DOE. To qualify, the appliances must be ENERGY STAR-listed and certified to the Energy Commission as meeting all state and federal appliance efficiency standards.

To get e-mail updates about California's appliance programs, you can enter your name and e-mail address in the box on the right hand side of California's website called "Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program and ENERGY STAR® Recovery Funding" at

• http://www.energy.ca.gov/recovery/energystar.html

Current Consumer Rebates & Incentives

California has consumer rebates and incentives available now. Details are their Flex Your Power website.