By the California Energy Commission For Immediate Release: March 9, 2010 Media Contact: Amy Morgan - 916-654-4989

Consumers are eligible for a rebate when they purchase a qualified highly energy efficient appliance, properly recycle their old appliance, and submit a complete application package, available at the California Cash for Appliances website: www.cash4appliances.org.  This website explains the rebate program offering information - such as the forms that are required and the partner retailers who have signed on to the program.

California residential consumers can get a $200 rebate for an eligible refrigerator, $100 for an efficient clothes washer, and $50 for a certified room air conditioner. These rebates may be combined with other rebates offered by manufacturers, retailers, or utilities. Consumers are urged to look for appliances with the California Cash for Appliances sticker at their favorite local retailer.

Homeowners should notice the savings on their energy bills with their new appliances almost immediately. Today a new ENERGY STAR® -qualified refrigerator, for example, will use 50 percent less energy as ones made in the 1990s, and 80 percent less energy than the ones made in the 1970s. That can translate to as much as $65 a year savings on your electricity bill.

Consumers can only receive one rebate on each type of appliance, on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are depleted.

Funding for the program comes from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The California Energy Commission is administering the SEEARP that will provide rebates to consumers for purchasing qualified home appliances during the rebate period.