Illinois' ENERGY STAR® Appliance Rebate Program Closing Tonight at 7 p.m.

CHICAGO – April 16, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn announced that retail sales trends from 600 participating Illinois retailers show that all of the state's $6.2 million ENERGY STAR appliance rebate funding will be gone by 7 p.m. tonight, 11 hours after the program started.

"This program was an overwhelming success. Tens of thousands of consumers have new, energy efficient appliances at a savings. In the months to come, their energy consumption will be reduced and so will their energy bills," said Governor Quinn. "Our hats are off to the retailers who participated in this program, some of whom are continuing their own sales even after the rebate program closes."

Participating retailers reported their sales throughout the day to program partners including the State Energy Office at Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, (DCEO) the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA).

"We wanted to make sure that people who worked all day were able to take advantage of this program when they got off the job. After tracking the pace of the sales, we decided to supplement the federal stimulus funding with dollars from a dedicated state energy efficiency fund, to extend the program through to 7 o'clock," said Warren Ribley, Director of DCEO.

Additional funds for the final hour came from the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund, a dedicated funding source operated by the State Energy Office to increase the development of residential energy efficiency. All electric providers pay into the fund.

A total of at least $6.2 million in federally-funded rebates were handed out through Illinois' program. A total of at least $31 million in new appliances were estimated to have been sold by 5 p.m. today, 60 percent of which were refrigerators and freezers. Consumers who purchased new refrigerators and freezers can get an additional $75 mail-in rebate when they properly recycle their old units. The mail-in rebate form is available online for consumers at www.illinoisenergy.org/appliances.

“Due to the tremendous popularity among consumers and the support and cooperation of retailers, the program was a smashing success,” said Illinois Retail Merchants Association President & CEO David F. Vite.

Consumers received a 15 percent rebate (up to $400 per appliance) on ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers and room air conditioners. The program was designed to help Illinoisans reduce their energy consumption and provide a boost to local economies.

Illinois received a total of $12.4 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement three phases of the program. The first and second phases, which closed earlier this Spring, offered rebates on water heaters and heating and cooling equipment and pumped over $35 million into the Illinois economy.