Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program

Congress appropriated $300 million nationwide to support state rebate programs for residential ENERGY STAR® appliance products (those that represent improvements in efficiency compared to the majority of products on the market).

Federal Amount Available: $300 million, nationally
SECO Allocation: $23,341,000*

* Funds allocated for all Texas Appliance Rebate programs.

Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program

The Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program began accepting applications on December 20, 2010. Approximately $10 million from unclaimed rebate funds, plus an additional $8.5 million from unused public sector energy efficiency funds (transferred from the State Energy Program to the rebate program) were available for this program, which will run until all funds are distributed. All funds are part of the federal stimulus program.

Due to low fund availability, the rebate program closed to new applications on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. New applications were required to be postmarked on or before March 9, 2011 to be considered for funding.

Eligible Appliances - For rebate amounts and additional product information, see the list of eligible appliances.

Additional program details are posted on the official state of Texas Appliance Mail-In Rebate Program website, part of the Texas Powerful Smart energy portal. Read about the program impact on the Department of Energy - Spotlight on Texas.

Program Status

• Initial Applications submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE) on 8/15/09.
• SECO Comprehensive Application submitted to DOE 10/14/09.
• DOE approval announced on 12/11/09.
• The Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program (April 2010) launched on 4/7/10 and closed to new applicants on 6/15/10. All eligible rebate applications will be fulfilled by September 2010.
• New appliance rebate program announced on 9/1/10. Program launched on 12/20/10.
• Program closed to new applications on 3/9/11.

Program Objectives

• Save energy by encouraging appliance replacement through consumer rebates
• Make rebates available to consumers
• Enhance existing rebate programs by leveraging ENERGY STAR national partner relationships and local program infrastructure
  
• Keep administrative costs low while adhering to monitoring and evaluation requirements
• Promote state and national tracking and accountability
• Use existing ENERGY STAR consumer education and outreach materials

Legal Authority:
Federal Code: Energy Policy Act of 2005 (PDF, 3.1 MB), Title I, Subtitle B, Section 124 (42 USC 15821)