The Government of the Canary Islands will open this Tuesday, September 15 the deadline to access the new Appliance Renewal Plan, an initiative aimed at helping households replace old appliances with models that have lower energy consumption. The aid will range between 70 and 450 euros per appliance and will be applied directly to the purchase price, without the citizen having to advance the amount of the subsidy and later wait for the Administration to refund it.
The program has two million euros of public investment, of which 1.6 million will be directly allocated to finance the vouchers. The regional government aims to combine three objectives: alleviate the outlay involved in changing some of the most expensive household appliances, reduce electricity consumption, and ensure that the withdrawn equipment ends up within the authorized waste management circuit.
The voucher must be requested before purchasing
This is the requirement that may cause the most problems among those who are unaware of how the aid works. You cannot buy the appliance first and then request the discount. The interested party will have to register beforehand, starting this Tuesday, on the official platform of the Appliance Renewal Plan and request the corresponding voucher for the appliance they wish to acquire.
Once granted, the voucher will be valid for 15 days. During that period, it must be redeemed at one of the stores participating in the program. If the 15 days pass without making the purchase, it will lose its validity and the reserved money may be made available again to other applicants.
The discount is applied directly at the checkout. That is to say, if the appliance meets the conditions and there is a valid voucher, the buyer will pay the final price once the amount of the aid has been deducted.
What appliances can be exchanged
The program includes five major categories of appliances commonly found in homes: combi refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and induction cooktops. The specific amount will depend on the type of appliance being replaced, the energy efficiency of the new equipment, and whether the buyer belongs to a vulnerable group or not.
Each person will be able to benefit from the plan to renew up to five appliances during the period in which the campaign remains open. This does not necessarily imply receiving five aids of 450 euros: the maximum amount corresponds to certain operations and is reserved for those who prove a situation of vulnerability.
For consumers in general, the vouchers may reach a maximum of 250 euros per appliance. For vulnerable individuals, the aid may reach 450 euros, again depending on the appliance and its energy characteristics.
Who can obtain the 450 euros
The reinforced amount is not granted simply for declaring a complicated economic situation. The Government of the Canary Islands will require proof of vulnerability during registration.
This can be done through a certificate of vulnerability, a bill that shows that the applicant is a beneficiary of the electric social voucher or a resolution granting the Minimum Vital Income (IMV). In the last two cases, the documentation must be no more than three months old.
Therefore, the 450 euros are the maximum provided for vulnerable households, while the ordinary limit is set at 250 euros. The minimum amount contemplated by the program starts at 70 euros.
It is also mandatory to deliver the old appliance
The Renovation Plan is not designed simply as a subsidy to buy a new appliance. The aid is linked to the replacement of an old appliance, which must be removed and treated as waste from electrical or electronic appliances.
Once the new equipment is delivered, the old one must be incorporated into the authorized circuit for managing WEEE. The system will allow for the proof of its collection and treatment, preventing the replaced appliances from being abandoned or managed outside the established channels.
The obligation is part of the environmental component of the program: the Government not only intends for households to consume less electricity with more efficient equipment but also to properly recover materials from appliances that are no longer used.
How to know which stores and models participate
The Plan Renovation platform itself will allow consulting the participating establishments and the included appliances, in addition to checking the evolution of the available funds on each island.
The purchase will have to be made precisely in one of those stores. Going to a non-affiliated establishment or acquiring a model that is outside the program may prevent the application of the voucher even if the citizen has already requested it.
The system will be managed by Femete in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Femepa in Las Palmas, under the coordination of the Canary Government. Both organizations will be responsible for monitoring operations, the documentation of the stores, and budget control.
1.6 million for the vouchers and funds distributed by islands
Of the two million allocated to the plan, 1.6 million will directly finance the discounts, initially distributed equally between both provinces.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 712,800 euros are reserved for Tenerife, 62,400 for La Palma, 16,800 for La Gomera, and 8,000 for El Hierro. In the province of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria will have 600,000 euros, Lanzarote 112,000, and Fuerteventura 88,000.
This distribution is relevant because the campaign is conditioned on the existence of a budget. Therefore, the deadline does not guarantee by itself that there will be aids available until the last day.
Until December 15, but it may run out earlier
The Renove Plan is expected to last until December 15, 2026, although the Government makes it clear that its continuity will be subject to the availability of funds. If the allocated budget is consumed before, the vouchers may stop being available.
The Administration will monitor the money used on each island and the rate at which aids are requested and redeemed, which will allow knowing on the platform how much budget remains.
For those thinking about changing a refrigerator, washing machine, or dishwasher, the procedure is thus reduced to a fundamental rule: first the voucher is requested and then the purchase is made. Starting this Tuesday, the interested party must register, select an available aid, and, once issued, will have 15 days to go to an affiliated store, acquire the new appliance with the discount already applied, and deliver the old one for proper management as waste.