Under the program, people must first purchase an energy-efficient refrigerator or air conditioner and then apply for a rebate by mail.
Kris OConnor,left salesman at Mannys, Appliance store on Boston Road, goes over paperwork with Omer J. Picard Jr., of Ludlow, right one of the lucky people to get thru to the state web site and get his rebate last year.
BOSTON -- Seeking to avoid problems that undermined last year's appliance rebate program, the administration of Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Tuesday unveiled a new, slimmed-down rebate program for energy-saving refrigerators and air conditioners this summer.
Last year, many consumers couldn't log on to an Internet site to reserve a rebate for an appliance when a high volume of applicants swamped the site and it failed. Rebates were gone in two hours.
The state's energy commissioner said some key lessons were learned from last year's program.
"We put a lot of thought and spent the time necessary to design a program that will provide a good experience for the consumer but will also address some of the concerns raised in the last rebate program," said Mark D. Sylvia, commissioner of the state Department of Energy Resources.
This year's program will be limited to refrigerators and air conditioners, Sylvia said. The program is also different because people must first purchase an appliance before obtaining a rebate, he said. After making the purchase, people need to fill out an application, mail it to the vendor and then receive a rebate check from the vendor.
Last year, people were told to go to the Internet site to reserve rebates for dishwashers, refrigerators, clothes washers and freezers. After reserving the rebate, people could buy the item. That created a rush to the Internet site to secure a rebate, Sylvia said. Some people also received rebates last year and then didn't complete the purchase, he said.
The state also hired a new, experienced company to administer the program, Sylvia said. The president of last year's web provider, PixelMEDIA of Portsmouth, N.H., apologized after the Internet problems frustrated many consumers.
The new program will launch on July 28 and will be open to Massachusetts households. Customers who purchase a new energy-saving refrigerator or room air conditioner to replace an inefficient model, may qualify for rebates of $150 and $50, respectively. Customers can purchase both items if they want.
The program is expected to pay for approximately 20,000 rebates worth $2 million and is estimated to save around 1.8 million kilowatt hours in a year, enough to power 250 homes for a year.
Last year's rebates totaled about 26,000 initially and were valued at $5.5 million.
When the system failed last year, state officials agreed to finance an additional 12,731 rebate reservations placed on a waiting list.
Before purchasing a refrigerator or air conditioner in this year's program, customers will be able to check how much rebate money is available by going online to the program's web site or calling a customer service center. At the Internet site, or with a phone call, people can track the status of funding and their own rebate applications.
At their stores, retailers can also provide customers with real-time status of funding. The state will provide a web address and a phone number for the service center a couple of weeks before the July 28 launch. A list of participating retailers will also be available on the web site and through the call center.
After taking bids, the state selected Minnesota-based Helgeson Enterprises, Inc. to administer the rebate program. Helgeson Enterprises has managed stimulus-financed appliance rebate programs in 14 other states, including Colorado, Georgia and Rhode Island, and has a robust national rebate fulfillment business.
Based on Helgeson’s experience with similarly designed programs in other states, rebate funds are estimated to be available for a couple of weeks after the program launches.
The program will be financed with proceeds from the auction of carbon allowances under a regional initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. It will also be financed with federal stimulus dollars and money to promote energy efficiency from a cap and trade program established to reduce ozone pollution.