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Duke Energy Suspends Rebate Program

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Seattle company that has been processing rebates to Duke Energy customers who donate old appliances has gone out of business, leaving thousands of residents with bounced rebate checks and defunct refrigerators.

The rebate program helps customers replace older appliances with newer, high-efficiency models.

Duke Energy filed a letter Wednesday with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, saying the unexpected insolvency of Jaco Environmental has stranded customers of multiple utilities in 35 states.

Duke representatives say the company will reimburse all affected customers with their $50 rebates and make up any bank charges for bounced checks.

The News and Observer of Raleigh reports the company is asking customers not to cash their rebate checks until further notice.

Duke has also temporarily suspended its appliance recycling program until it can find another contractor to administer the service.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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