The state’s $18 million rebate program for energy-efficient appliances and home improvements started Monday with a deluge of applications that choked phone lines and the program’s website.
More than 9,000 rebate reservations had been issued by the Recharge Colorado program by 5 p.m. and all the rebates for tankless water heaters were gone, according to the Governor’s Energy Office.
“We are really excited by the enthusiasm of Coloradans,” said Todd Hartman, spokesman for the energy office. “We’ve had some hiccups, and we’ve worked hard all day to address them.”
The program is part of $300 million in economic-stimulus funding for states through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The rebates cover qualified appliances, water heaters, insulation, solar panels and even small residential wind turbines.
Consumers can use the website or phone line to get a rebate reservation until all the funds are committed.
Then they have 10 to 30 days to make the purchase or hire a contractor. If that hasn’t happened, the rebate becomes available to applicants on a wait list.
Just getting a reservation Monday was a challenge for many.
The heavy volume forced state officials to shut down parts of the website. So while consumers could apply for rebates on appliances, they couldn’t do the same for insulation.
It took Aylene McCallum of Denver about 45 minutes of hitting the refresh button at the Recharge Colorado website to get in at 9:30 a.m.
McCallum’s dishwasher and refrigerator are on their last legs, and she has scouted out and lined up new appliances.
“The thought that we might not get in was nerve-wracking,” she said.
The McCallums got a reservation for a $50 dishwasher rebate and a $100 refrigerator rebate — for about a 12 percent discount on the appliances.
There were more than 30,000 visitors to the site Monday, according to the energy office.
At first, the program’s call center was jammed, but when Dorlene West of Denver called about 10 a.m., she got through to an agent after a 10-minute wait.
“I got a lovely lady who took all my information,” said West, who applied for dishwasher and refrigerator rebates.
The center handled 1,326 calls by 4 p.m. Monday and issued 749 rebate applications.
The rebates are divided up among the different categories of appliances. There is $4.5 million for 23,000 appliance rebates, including:
• 6,000 refrigerators.
• 4,000 dishwashers.
• 4,000 clothes washers.
• 3,750 high-performance water heaters.
The 500 rebates for tankless water heaters, at $300 apiece, had all been reserved by 3:30 p.m. Monday.
For Phillip Pohanic of Aurora, getting a rebate required persistence. He said he first tried at 6 a.m., only to learn the website didn’t go live until 8 a.m.
He said he tried at 9:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Finally, at 4:10 p.m., he got on the site and locked in rebates for a dishwasher and refrigerator.
“It look a lot of time,” Pohanic said, ” but it all worked out.”
The rebate program is online at , or call 800-462-0184.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
