Illinois ENERGY STAR® Appliance Rebate Program Concludes at 10:30 a.m. Today

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced that today's ENERGY STAR appliance rebate program will close at 10:30 a.m. today after thousands of Illinoisans took advantage of the opportunity to replace old, inefficient appliances.

"I am very happy to report that today's one-day rebate program has been very successful," said DCEO Director Warren Ribley. "All available funding will be exhausted by 10:30 a.m. Our goal through this second round of the program was to ensure as many people as possible were able to take advantage of these savings - and we achieved our goal. I want to commend the retailers for their efforts to make this a success. Today's sales provided another strong boost to Illinois retailers."

"Never in the history of Illinois have sales been so brisk," said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which has teamed up with the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance to manage the rebate program on behalf of DCEO. "This makes Black Friday look like a slow day."

Today's $3 million in rebate money is in addition to $9.4 million in rebates offered earlier in the year through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the first round of the Illinois ENERGY STAR rebate program.

The first round generated more than $75 million in sales and 1.3 trillion BTUs in lifetime energy savings - the equivalent of taking 1,712 passenger vehicles off the road. 

In today's final phase, consumers upgrading to ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers and dishwashers received a 15 percent point-of-sale rebate (up to $250 per appliance) at participating stores. The rebates were intended for consumers replacing an old unit; customers were required to certify that they are purchasing a replacement appliance at the time of purchase. More than 450 retailers participated in the program statewide.