China's home appliances replacement program has boosted sales revenue for home appliances by 100 billion yuan (US$14.98 billion), the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

The scheme, aimed to spur domestic consumption and curb pollution, has lifted the sales volume of home appliances by 26.72 million units as of Thursday since it was launched in June 2009, said the MOC in an online statement.

According to the program, buyers in nine provinces and municipalities including Guangdong Province, Beijing and Shanghai, receive a subsidy worth 10 percent of the retail prices on five kinds of new appliances: TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and computers.

As of now, the program is estimated to have helped reduce power consumption by 5.1 billion kilowatt hours, as power consumption by the new home appliances is 20 to 30 percent lower than the traded-in ones, the statement said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2010)