Texans Overwhelm Appliance Rebate Program

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A new state incentive for Texans to buy energy-efficient appliances didn’t last long — less than a day.

The state began accepting rebate reservations Wednesday for the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program for purchases of select Energy Star appliances.

But high public demand quickly overwhelmed the reservation system and many callers are being greeted with busy signals as they try to sign up. By the end of the day, a notice was posted on the program’s Web site, stating that “All rebate and waitlist reservations have been filled.”

At the Wednesday peak, the comptroller’s Web site got 1,700 hits per second and a toll-free switchboard was fielding about 1,000 calls per minute. Agency spokesman R.J. DeSilva said authorities had added 100 phone operators to deal with the high volume.

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