Energy Rebate Program Unveiled

Residents of 15 South Bay cities can receive as much as $100 off energy-efficient products they purchase under a program unveiled Thursday by city officials and businesses in Redondo Beach.

The $1.9-million South Bay Energy Rewards Program will also hold seminars to teach the public how to save energy.

The program will subsidize as much as 100% of the costs of upgrading lighting in the common areas of apartment buildings and provide some funding to improve heating and air-conditioning systems in such buildings.

The program is funded by a California Public Utilities Commission grant.

Rebates are available on products with the Energy Star label -- an energy efficiency standard set by the federal government. Unlike mail-in rebates, these payments will be made at the cash register.

Eligible products include dishwashers and window air-conditioning units. Refrigerators and stoves are not included.

To receive the rebates, residents in the 15 cities must obtain coupons and present them to merchants. Coupons can be obtained by calling (888) 467-7776 or at any of the nine participating stores, including Sears and Home Depot.

The project was conceived during last year’s power blackouts. Redondo Beach Mayor Gregory Hill is credited with spearheading the effort.

Hill said that, if successful, the rebate program could serve as a model for the rest of the state, even the nation.

Officials said they are already seeing interest in the program. Since January, nearly 200 coupons have been redeemed, said Marilyn Lyon, program coordinator.

Bretton Gerlach, president of Unified Property Services in Torrance, said all 10 of the apartment properties he manages in the participating cities have signed up for the program.

The program will run through the end of the year, but officials said it may be extended.

The coupons are issued on a first-come, first-served basis, and are available until funds are exhausted.

It is a small program, Hill acknowledges, but he stressed that it’s a beginning. “One lightbulb at a time,” he said.

The cities participating are: Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates and Torrance.