More than half the federal rebate money in the program has been either paid out or is being processed, reflecting increased demand since the state expanded the program in late July.

The California Energy Commission on July 28 approved more qualifying appliances, aiming to have more people take advantage of nearly $20.3 million in rebate funds then remaining of the original $31.7 million.

As of Tuesday morning, the state said it had received 112,324 rebate applications and has $14.8 million remaining in its rebate pool.

“This program has always been steady in that we were getting 2,000 to 3,000 (rebate) applications a week. Now, I’m seeing 2,000 to 3,000 a day come in,” said CEC spokeswoman Amy Morgan.

Since April 22, the state has been processing rebates of $200 for qualifying refrigerators, $100 for clothes washers and up to $50 for room air conditioners. On July 29, the program was expanded to include rebates of $50 for freezers, $100 for dishwashers, $300 to $750 for water heaters and $500 to $1,000 for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Read more here: California sees increase in appliance rebate applications