Unclaimed Appliance Rebate Money Available Again

Kentucky's rebate program for energy efficient appliances enticed thousands of people to purchase new appliances, but thousands of Kentuckians never claimed their rebates.The program began in April and was funded through the federal stimulus package. Four million dollars was to be distributed in rebates to Kentuckians who purchased Energy Star appliances. The rebates could be reserved online or over the phone, and all of the money was spoken for in a few weeks.Dave McCalpin is G.E.'s General Manager for Home Energy Management. He says the program helped bring jobs to Louisville."These rebates given in the commonwealth and states across the country stimulated purchases of washers so much that we had to add 60 new employees right here on our washer line at Appliance Park," he says.More than 17 thousand rebates have been awarded, but many people who made reservations for rebates never cashed them in. 1.7 million dollars went unclaimed, and the money will be redistributed through a second round of rebates, which are available now and will be given on a first-come-first-served basis.Energy Cabinet secretary Len Peters says many of the dollars will likely go to Kentuckians who waited too long to apply for rebates previously."I think it's going to be more of the same consumers," he says. "It's just individuals who may have been shut out because we had to terminate when all $4 million was reserved, we didn't know how much was going to be used, and it turns out about $1.7 million was not."Peters says he expects the money to last for about two or three months.