Electronics Industry Group Calls California TV Proposal Inefficient

Just how much power TVs should use has become a matter of growing debate between the California Energy Commission and the consumer electronics industry.

Next week, the Consumer Electronics Association is coming out with a new study in a salvo against the CEC over proposed rules for specific energy standards for TVs sold in California. Under the CEC’s proposed rules, 42-inch TVs sold in California must consume 183 watts or less by 2011, dropping to 115.5 watts by 2013. The CEC says it’s trying to make TVs more efficient to save the state and consumers money.

But the CEA’s new study, which the industry group commissioned earlier this year from consulting services firm Resolution Economics LLC in Los Angeles, tries to debunk some of the CEC’s reasoning for the new rules.

Doug Johnson, the CEA’s senior director of technology policy and international affairs, says consumers won’t save any money under the proposed rules and will end up paying more for TVs if the rules go into effect. The study notes that TV makers currently charge more for TVs that currently meet the government’s Energy Star standard, which is given to those products that meet strict energy efficient guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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