California poised for energy-hungry plasma TV crackdown

The most power-hungry flat screen LCD and plasma TVs could effectively be banned across California from 2011 under new regulations proposed yesterday.

The California Energy Commission, which manages the state's energy policy, said it was working on new standards for TV sets designed to cut energy consumption across the state by the equivalent of the energy use of 86,400 homes.

The commission is likely to target the most power-hungry widescreen plasma sets, which can consume up to three times more energy than traditional cathode ray machines.

It said that a second wave of more demanding standards would then be introduced from 2013, which could target Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs that use 43 per cent more electricity than traditional models.

The draft regulations are being opposed by the consumer electronics industry, which claims that sales could suffer. The US Consumer Electronics Association also claimed that the regulations would undermine voluntary energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Star labelling initiative.

"The combination of energy-efficient design by manufacturers and energy-conscious usage by consumers goes a long way towards saving energy," said a spokesman for the trade group.

However, the commission is likely to argue that with televisions accounting for 10 per cent of the average Californian's electricity bill, there is a strong case for legislation.

The standards would also bring TVs into line with other home appliances, such as air conditioning units and refrigerators, which are already subject to energy efficiency rules.

With California representing one of the largest markets in the US for TV manufacturers, the rules will further increase pressure on the sector to accelerate the development of more energy efficient systems, such as emerging organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technologies.