Cal. Energy Standards Seen as Model for State Legislation Next Year

Cal. became the first state to set energy efficiency standards for CE products as the Cal. Energy Commission (CEC) adopted new regulations Wed. by a 5-0 vote. Claiming the move will hamstring technological innovation, the industry also worried this would fuel legislation in other states. Advocates called the step a major boost to energy efficiency efforts and said the Cal. regulations would guide lobbying efforts next year.

The regulations will apply to a range of audio and video products, including TVs, VCRs and DVDs. Exempted is any multifunction TV that has VCR, DVD, DVR or electronic program guide (EPG) capability or a POD card slot. At the last minute, the CEC also withdrew DVD recorders with EPG functions from the purview of regulations after the industry told it that EPG functionality wasn’t compatible with the standards. The Commission put off consideration of cable and satellite set-top boxes to next year but set a standard for over-the-air TV digital converters.

The standards are compact audio, 2 w standby; TVs, 3 w standby; DVD players/recorders, 3 w standby; and direct tape access, 3 w standby and 4 w active. The regulations also cover external power supplies, the small transformers that are used to power answering machines, cell and cordless phones and a host of other CE products.

“Meaningless standards is going to be a challenge for the industry,” said Jason Linnell, EIA staff dir.- environmental affairs. He said the industry believes state-based standards aren’t the way to go, and energy efficiency of electronics is better dealt with through federal programs such as the EPA’s Energy Star. The last- minute exemption of EPG equipped DVD recorders showed “these products are constantly changing,” and the energy standards can’t keep up with the changes “the technology is demanding,” he added: “We could be in a situation very soon where a product could be prohibited on the market just because it wasn’t a product envisioned when the standards were originally written.”

Linnell said not many states had an agency like Cal.’s that had the authority to set standards. But states could introduce legislation like the bill that have been cropping up in northeastern states the past 2 years to impose cable and satellite set-top box standards, he said: “The advocates for that will be introducing it again next year and they will be pointing to what California has done as justification.” The industry, Linnell said, is looking at voluntary standards, and would prefer them over mandates that could limit technology.

“We look to California as the leader,” said Isaac Elnecave, energy efficiency project mgr. for the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), which sponsored set-top box legislation in many states. “What California did was a major step forward in energy efficiency and reducing energy” consumption, he added. NEEP hasn’t completed its legislative proposals for next year, he said, and would “look at what they [Cal.] have done,” and consider incorporating it into bills it submits for the upcoming legislative sessions. Cal., he said, had done a lot of research on cost efficiency and “we look to them to guide our decision-making process.”

The industry had raised jurisdictional issues over states’ right to set TV standards, because TVs are covered by the Energy Policy & Conservation Act. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DoE) has determined that states are preempted from setting energy efficiency standards for covered products, it said. Adopting TV standards Mon., the CEC said states were allowed to regulate appliances not covered by national standards. None of the products covered in its ruling is federally regulated, it added. Acknowledging controversy over preemption, Elnecave said NEEP’s position was that a product is preempted only when there’s a standard in federal law. “If a standard is included in the legislation itself or if the DoE finalizes a rulemaking, then it is probably preempted.” Cable and CE industries claimed last year cable and satellite set- top box rules were preempted by the Telecom Act, because the FCC had the authority to set standards on the devices, he said: “That’s a claim we disputed.”