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Texas: Rebate program response strong
Posted on 12. Apr, 2010 by GMS Editor in Newsflash, ShowOnLatestPanel
Comptroller’s office worked to alleviate delays
Times Record News: posted April 9, 2010 at 5:11 a.m.
With more than 38 million Web hits and nearly 39,000 rebate reservations made, Texans swarmed online and telephone reservation systems Wednesday to grab rebates for energy- efficient appliances from the Texas Comptrol-ler’s office.
The comptroller’s office said there were approximately 2,400 Web hits per second and about 1,000 calls per minute. And because of the overwhelming popularity of the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate program and the extremely high volume of traffic on the Web site, www.TexasPowerfulSmart.org, the comptroller’s office worked throughout the day with the company administering the rebates to alleviate delays related to extremely high demand on the Web site as well as on the phone reservation system.
The Comptroller’s office said it had 550 people answering calls on the reservation telephone lines. It said it also will investigate what appears to be a Web attack that may have flooded the online reservation system early in the day, using nearly 75 percent of the available capacity.
The Comptroller’s office reported Texans reserved 38,864 guaranteed rebates; of that total, 32,283 reservations were made online and 6,581 over the telephone.
“Regrettably, we were only given approximately $23 million to implement and administer the rebate program in a state of this size, and there were some people who were not able to get through in time to reserve a guaranteed rebate,” Combs said. “We encourage everyone to take advantage of other rebates and incentives on Energy Star® products offered at the federal, state and local levels, including the state’s Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday coming up over Memorial Day weekend.”
Consumers have to be on the guaranteed rebate reservation list or the waitlist in order to print or receive the application forms necessary to mail in to claim rebates. Residents must mail in their rebate forms and a copy of the sales receipt, along with any other required documents, postmarked within 60 days of the reservation date. Rebate applications mailed in from waitlist participants will be processed in the order received, pending available funds.
Texans can use the rebates to buy energy efficient appliances in eight appliance categories. The purchase period for all appliances begins April 16. For refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers and room air conditioners, the purchase period ends April 25. For central air conditioners, hot water heaters and air-source heat pumps, the purchase period ends 60 days from the rebate reservation or waitlist request date.
Disposal of the old, functional appliance of the same type is required for all rebate applications. There is an additional $75 rebate for recycling the old appliance.
Information to other rebates and incentives can be found at www.TexasPowerfulSmart.org/incentives.
