Battle Rages in California Over TV Power Regulations

For those that don't live in California, this story may seem trivial, but what starts in California has a habit of affecting the rest of the country sooner or later.

What I am referring to is the ongoing battle between the California Energy Commission (CEC), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and Californians for Smart Energy.

At stake is a set of proposed regulations being formulated by the CEC to regulate how much power televisions sold in California can consume. The first round of regulations, if approved, will be enforced in 2011 and a second round in 2013 (see report by Wired).

On the other side of the issue are the claims by the CEA and Californians for Smart Energy that the proposed regulations are arbitrary and that the voluntary Enegry Star private-government partnership program is already making progress in bringing more energy efficient televisions to the marketplace. Also, increasing awareness that professional calibration of a television once it is in the home can also contribute more efficient energy use. A properly calibrated televisions can consume less power. With Energy Star and other voluntary programs already in place, the CEA and Californians for Smart Energy see the proposed mandatory CEC regulations as unneeded interference.

My Take: Although the CEA and Californians for Smart Energy are industry lobbying groups made up primarily manufacturers, dealers, and custom installers, which are trying to protect their interests, this not just a case of "big bad" business vs the needs or desires of the people of California.

The opposition to the CEC isn't against the goal to design televisions with better energy efficiency, which can result in lower electric bills for consumers (of course the less electricity we use often times leads to an increase in the rate we have to pay for it). In fact, many new televisions meet, or will have no trouble meeting, the proposed 2011 standards. However, it is what CEC-imposed regulations may also portend for the future, which may be the eventual rationing of electricity.

As is typical when dealing with unelected bureaucrats, the proposed regulations appear to be purely arbitrary, and may result in the effective banning of Plasma, and possibly other televisions, over 60-inches in size. No thought seems to be in place to take into consideration what power requirements are needed to insure that a television performs up to its optimum quality.

Also, in typical government short-sightedness, consumers residing in California could simply skirt the issue and buy large "energy-hogging" Televisions online or by mail-order, thus exporting jobs and sales tax revenues to other states for products being purchased and used by Californians. This could result in more unemployment and lowering sales tax income in a State already hard hit by unemployment and no money to pay its own bills.

Essentially, the State of California is taking on the role of rationing power, rather than encouraging the generation of power. California sits on top of a wealth of resources for generating power, including oil, natural gas, solar, nuclear, wind, and hydro, which can easily supply enough energy for the state for generations, if not hundreds of years, to come, which would also go a long way to pay its bills by generating employment and resultant tax revenue.

California has access to billions of dollars in potential off-shore oil lease revenue and can also take advantage of its huge solar power potential, but wait...We can't have more oil or gas drilling, even solar farms are being targeted as environmental hazards, especially with regards to the construction of electrical transmission lines from proposed solar farms to the cities where the energy would be consumed. Also, hydro power kills fish, so we can't have that either (some are advocating tearing out dams that generate electricity), and, of course we can't risk "evil" nuclear power. Those unsightly wind turbines are unacceptable as birds fly into them, so we can't have that either. Depending on who you talk to: Oil no good, Solar no good, Hydro no good, Nuclear no good, Wind no good...

In order to save what little electricity we may have access to in the future (due to poor government policy, not the lack of available resources), televisions are only the beginning. Watch out home theater and audio enthusiasts - amplifiers and video projectors can also be classified as "energy hogs" - and for everyone, don't think that owning one of those new green electric cars will get you off the hook; where will you get the electricity to charge them up?

As electric power rationing becomes an increasing reality, if present trends continue for the long term, anything that uses electricity may be regulated to meet some bureaucrat's arbitrary notion of energy efficiency. A good example of this folly are those new energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs we are all being "encouraged" to use. They do save energy, I use them and have cut my household electric bill by about 30%, no complaint there, but...they all contain mercury, which creates an additional environmental hazard, especially if you dispose or break one. If you break an energy efficient fluorescent light bulb, you need to follow specific instructions to clean up the debris in order to avoid personal and environmental contamination. I guess we could replace light bulbs with candles, but wait...don't candles give off carbon emissions?

Perhaps we could save some energy by eliminating the California Energy Commission (how much electricity do they use to support their staff and operation?), or at least charge them to cooperate with efforts already in place, such as Energy Star, coupled with the encouragement of practical ways to actually generate electricity instead of rationing it. Just a thought...