The California State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, popularly known as Cash for Appliances, is now under way.

The following types of appliances are eligible for rebates through the program:

• Clothes washers - $100
• Refrigerators - $200
• Room air conditioners - $50

The state kicked off the appliance rebate program on Earth Day, April 22.

To qualify, the appliances must be Energy Star-listed and certified to the Energy Commission as meeting all state and federal appliance efficiency standards. All California residents are eligible to participate in the program. Consumers must provide proof of recycling to receive a rebate, and must purchase the appliance from a California retailer.

All rebates will be distributed through a mail-in program.

The program is one of 56 State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Programs, popularly known as Cash for Appliances, that are being set up in the United States and six U.S. territories with the help of federal stimulus money.

California will receive about $35.2 million of the nearly $300 million available nationwide for the program from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

For more information on the Cash for Appliances program, visit the California Energy Commission Web site.