Calif. requires TVs to be more energy efficient

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Power-hungry TVs will be banned from store shelves in California after state regulators Wednesday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate to reduce electricity demand.

On a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission required all new televisions up to 58 inches to be more energy efficient, beginning in 2011. The requirement will be tougher in 2013, with only a quarter of all TVs currently on the market meeting that standard.

The commission estimates that TVs account for about 10 percent of a home's electricity use. The concern is that the energy draw will rise by as much as 8 percent a year as consumers buy larger televisions, add more to their homes and watch them longer.

Commissioners say energy efficiency standards are the cheapest and easiest way to save electricity.

"We have every confidence this industry will be able to meet the rule and then some," Energy Commissioner Julia Levin said. "It will save consumers money, it will help protect public health, and it will spark innovation."

TVs larger than 58 inches, which account for no more than 3 percent of the market, would not be covered by the rule, a concession to independent retailers that sell high-end home-theater TVs. The commission is expected to regulate them in the future.

Environmental groups supported the tougher standards and hoped they will prompt manufacturers to make new energy-efficient models for the rest of the nation. They said the rules would cut California's power bill by $1 billion a year, avoiding the need to build a 500-megawatt power plant.

Some manufacturers said implementing a power standard will limit consumer choice and harm California retailers because consumers could simply buy TVs out of state or order them online. Industry representatives also have said the standards would force manufacturers to make televisions with poorer picture quality and fewer features than those sold elsewhere in the U.S.

The televisions sold in California may simply be the models that already meet the requirements. In many cases, those also happen to be the more expensive ones.

"It could drive up costs," said Dave Arland, who represents the plasma television industry. "The ones that are super energy efficient are the ones that are more pricey."

Energy Commission Chairwoman Karen Douglas downplayed any negative consequences for California consumers, saying she expects the industry to continually increase energy efficiency for a wider variety of models.

"These standards are making TVs better," she said.