Energizing Consumer Rebates

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy with a mission to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. With the help of ENERGY STAR Americans save enough energy annually to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 30 million cars, all while saving nearly $17 billion on their utility bills.

The Challenge

To help further drive energy efficiency, ENERGY STAR established a program to provide rebates on designated appliances ranging from freezers to furnaces. Each U.S. State designed and managed its own rebate program which was approved by the Department of Energy, using $296 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under this program, eligible consumers receive rebates to purchase new energy-efficient appliances when they replace their old, less efficient appliances. Many States were looking for economical, efficient and effective methods to deliver the rebate funds to qualified consumers but had never run a program of this nature or magnitude before. Including hundreds of manufacturers, thousands of retailers and millions of consumers only complicated the process further. Many States needed to roll out their programs quickly and wanted a "green" solution that would promote additional energy savings while further stimulating local economies by encouraging consumers to spend rebate funds vs. saving them.

The Solution

Helgeson Enterprises, a turnkey fulfillment solutions provider specializing in rebate validation and processing services was tasked by a variety of States to manage the fulfillment operations of their ENERGY STAR rebate programs. To deliver these rebate payments quickly though, Helgeson needed a partner that could supplement their rapid validation and fulfillment services and integrate with their systems to economically deliver the ENERGY STAR payments to consumers. To address this need, Citi Prepaid Services rapidly integrated with Helgeson's systems and teamed with them to provide a turnkey card solution that allowed for package customization for the States which could be immediately implemented. These joint programs ultimately provided rebate solutions for 11 States.

The Result

The solution provided a turnkey implementation that addressed the rapid requirements to launch the ENERGY STAR rebate programs. The program provides an instant incentive with 12-month expiration, universal Visa card acceptance, full online and IVR account management tools and 24/7 cardholder support. The partnership between Helgeson and Citi Prepaid provides a streamlined solution that allows comprehensive rebate processing and payment delivery. The programs are projected to deliver over 400,000 payments to consumers in 11 States, including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Across these programs over $50 million dollars in ENERGY STAR rebates will be issued. Plus, the program encourages immediate rebate fund spending to stimulate the State economies while promoting the ENERGY STAR brand.