A quick cycle for appliance rebates

Want free money for energy-efficient appliances? Tough.

The money is gone, just one day after the program began. The last of $5 million worth of appliance rebates was claimed at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Even the waiting list of 9,400 deal-seekers has been closed.

In all, 25,926 households were granted rebates.

By Monday evening, clothes washer and dishwasher reservations were history. Hopeful consumers were frozen out of refrigerator and freezer money Tuesday morning.

Minnesota Department of Commerce spokeswoman Nicole Garrison-Sprenger said the state would not jump in with its own funding to extend the program, which was financed with federal stimulus funds approved last year.

The cash-for-appliances program had its share of hiccups. Minutes after the 8 a.m. launch, both the website and phone system crashed, leaving Minnesotans frustrated in their quest for a piece of the $300 million in federal money for buying an energy-efficient appliance. Both were working by late Monday morning, but access was touch and go.

Iowa also ran out of its $2.8 million allocation in a day. But other states have been struggling to dish out the handouts, which are based on population.

Asked if there were any regrets about the administration of the program, Garrison-Sprenger admitted there were "some bumps in the road." She pointed out that $5 million dollars "equates to about $1 per resident" and that the agency emphasized the limited number of rebates from the get-go.

Consumers on the wait list have a decision to make: Risk losing the money or risk a big-ticket purchase without getting cash back.

Wait-list rebate forms will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis if consumers who have a rebate reservation in hand do not buy an appliance within the 30-day window. That means wait-listed individuals would increase the odds of receiving a rebate if they run out and buy now, mail in the wait list rebate materials, and wait.

The Department of Commerce's website makes clear that people on the wait list may never pocket a rebate worth $100 to $200. Garrison-Sprenger said the chance of receiving a rebate if wait-listed "is small," but the agency chose to run the program this way so consumers can buy now and take advantage of other existing rebate programs.

Energystar.gov has a rebate finder tool that will locate rebates available from manufacturers and utilities by ZIP code and appliance type. The Minnesota Department of Commerce also has information on rebates and credit available at www.energy.mn.gov.