HARDI Hosts Ohio Energy Official

The lead staffer for the Ohio Energy Office's State Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) came to HARDI's headquarters yesterday to meet with staff and two HARDI distributors to discuss the state's anticipated Energy Star appliance rebate program. The state had decided not to include HVAC products in their $11 mil. program, but agreed to reconsider that decision as a result of our meeting. Ohio will include Energy Star water heaters and fielded a variety of suggestions for maximizing that program. The rebate program will be finalize by the end of the year and launched President's Day Weekend 2010. Ohio agreed to send any finalized details of the program to HARDI as soon as possible so we can begin immediate education and awareness among Ohio distributor members, so look for more information possibly as early as late November, early December. It will be essential for our industry to be ready to hit the ground running on the first day the program is open since we'll be directly competing with major retailers and the white goods industry for these finite rebate dollars.