CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE
Greening TV in CA
01-08-09
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
State regulators are getting ready to curb the growing power gluttony of TV sets by
drafting the nation's first rules requiring retailers to sell only the most energy-efficient
models, starting in 2011.
The California Energy Commission is looking for ways to relieve the strain on the power grid.
Officials say the standards, once fully in place, would reduce the state's annual energy needs
by an amount equivalent to the power consumed by 86,400 homes.
LCD uses around 43% more power than a cathode ray, and plasma screens use almost 3 times
as much. As an example during a peak viewing time when most sets are on, such as the Super
Bowl, TVs in the state collectively suck up the equivalent of 40% of the power generated by the
San Onofre nuclear power station running at full capacity. Televisions account for about 10% of
the average Californian's monthly household electricity bill.
The consumer electronics industry opposes the regulations, expected to pass in mid-2009, and
claims that they could remove some TVs from store shelves and slightly boost sticker prices. An
official from Pacific Gas and Electric interviewed in the LA Times identified California should apply
the same efficiency standards to televisions that it has used for the last 32 years with refrigerators
and other products. Additionally retailers argue that the standards would hurt their businesses,
because people would start buying all of their TVs on sites like Amazon -- avoiding the new
standards and sales tax.
In the meantime, dont touch that dial, I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
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