Rebate program full; waiting list open

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Want that government rebate for a new, energy efficient appliance? If you haven't pre-registered, it's time to get on the wait list.

On this first day of availability, the Web site for the Texas Trade Up Alliance Rebate Program crashed Wednesday morning due to a high volume of visitors who wanted to pre-register, between 9:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.. The site was back up as of 1 p.m. The crash led to a stampede over to the phone line. State Comptroller spokesman R.J. DeSilva says, "Right off the bat we got a thousand calls a minute, so we added 100 extra call takers."

De Silva confirmed the Comptroller's Office is “investigating what appears to be a web attack that flooded the system.”

In the “early part of the day,” one IP address was using 75 percent of the load capacity for the website. The IP address was blocked once the problem was discovered. The website continued to have an extremely high volume of users, but this particular problem went away.
 

The web site now  says: "Waitlist reservations are available." The amount of rebates depends on what each person purchases, so when the program actually begins, more money could free up from no-shows or from lower amounts of rebates being paid, officials with the program said.

In addition to the Web site, rebates are also available by calling 1-877-780-3039.  Calls can be taken until 7 p.m. 

Texas' portion of the rebate stimulus was $23 million, but by early afternoon, the money was gone. More than 1,000 calls per minute were coming in to the program.

The rebates can save as much as $240 on a new refrigerator or $180 on a washer, and shoppers are already lining up to cash in. And the new appliances will save you money. Alan Dove, manager of the Kiva Kitchen & Bath Appliance Store says of the new refridgerators, "If somebody has something as recent as eight or ten years old in their house right now they can fully expect a 75% improvement on energy efficiency, it's that dramatic."

The actual purchase period is April 16-25. In applying for the rebate, you need to know the category of appliance you want, but you do not need to list a specific make or model. You are responsible for disposing of your old appliance, but many stores will recycle them for you as part of your purchase deal.