Pennsylvania has received $11 million for rebates on home energy apparatuses as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Gov. Ed Rendell said the federal stimulus money will make it possible for Pennsylvanians to reduce their energy consumption and save money.
The Home Heating Equipment Rebate program is set to begin in April after the Pennsylvania Department of Energy (DEP) disburses the funds to two consulting firms and one non-profit organization, respectively, who will handle the rebates: Resources Development and Management Inc. out of Pittsburgh; Resource Solutions Group out of Half Moon Bay, California; and the Electric Gas Industries Association out of Sacramento, California.
The companies were selected through a competitive bid process.
Mr. Rendell said “Because the average Pennsylvania household spends 44 percent of its energy budget on heating and cooling, offering these rebates will provide a real and lasting benefit for consumers."
The program will provide rebates between $100 and $500 on the purchase of “non-electric residential hot water heaters, furnaces and boilers.” Non-electric heaters, furnaces, and boilers are powered alternatively by such fuels as kerosene, natural gas, oil, propane, and wood and a Google search shows the purchase cost for such items ranges in the $1,000 to $2,000 range for heaters and furnaces, and $3,000 to $5,000 for a boiler.
John Repetz, spokesperson for the DEP, said the rebate only applies to non-electric heaters, furnaces, and boilers, a.k.a. apparatuses, and not for ‘appliances,’ a word the department is trying to avoid. “We’re trying to stay clear of the word ‘appliance’. People have a preconceived notion of [appliances as] ‘I’m going to buy a new refrigerator and get $500 toward it.’” He also said the apparatuses have “to be Energy-Star rated or better. But it has to have the Energy Star rating and there are some pieces of equipment that are rated higher than Energy Star’s minimum.”
There is no defined income level limitation yet, as the DEP received word last fall they would receive the funding, to be distributed how it saw fit. Mr. Repetz said “[The department] will be handling all of that. The program is not up and operational; it’s not open to the general public. We still have to finalize some of the details and once they are finalized they will be posted on the DEP website. And certainly word will be getting out where people could go to file an application or to see what they would be entitled to.”
The governor expects the program to create 120 jobs – a cost of $91,666 per job – and 33,000 Pennsylvanians will be impacted over the program’s two year life, as all $11 million must be spent by 2012. Mr. Repetz said the program should succeed, even during a recession, because “If you look at some of the other rebates programs that are out there such as the PA Sunshine Solar Program for residential and small business heating units, that’s been an overwhelming success. It will require a bit of an investment by each individual. We’re hoping this is enough incentive to make the replacement.”
Darwyyn Deyo can be contacted by email at darwyyn@paindependent.com
