Maryland Would Lose Revenue, Jobs If State Imposes TV Energy Limits, CEA Warns

Maryland would lose $3.5 million in sales tax revenue and 490 jobs if it adopts TV energy standards proposed in SB-455, CEA told the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Tuesday. The bill by Sen. Paul Pinsky, D, seeks to copy TV standards adopted in November by the California Energy Commission. “The kind of performance-based regulation proposed by SB-455 will be detrimental to consumers, innovation, and every business that manufactures, sells and relies on the availability of the highest quality digital televisions at the lowest prices,” said Douglas Johnson, CEA senior director of technology policy.

But the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships accused CEA of opposing “every proposed standard for any electronic product” and spreading “misinformation” to policymakers about standards for TVs. CE companies and groups like Vizio, 3M and the LCD TV Association have said the proposed standards can “easily be met with existing technologies that will not increase manufacturing costs,” said David Lis, NEEP appliance efficiency standards manager. In a statement backing the proposed standards, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy said adopting the standards would reduce annual energy use in Maryland by 305 Gigawatt hours in 2020 and 407 GWh in 2030.

The standards proposed in SB-455 are based on “flawed and problematic” regulations adopted by California, CEA’s Johnson said. The California Energy Commission adopted the TV standards on a “stacked deck consisting of demonstrably false assumptions, admittedly stale and outmoded data, basic mathematical errors, and conceptual mistakes, that both exaggerates the ‘problem’ to be solved and overestimates the potential energy savings,” he said. The CEA had demonstrated to the commission that the TV regulations “violate California law” because they will “cost consumers far more than they may save,” he said.

Energy use of today’s digital TVs is equal to that of two 75-watt light bulbs, Johnson said, and through steady improvements, manufacturers are bringing those levels even lower. More than 1,240 models comply with version 3.0 Energy Star TV specs, he said, quoting EPA figures. “In less than two years, the energy efficiency of Energy Star digital TVs has been improved by more than 41 percent,” he said. “These successful efforts occurred not because of any government mandates or state regulations,” he said, but from competition from manufacturers to reduce costs to consumers.

Alleging that CEA lobbyists were “roaming the halls” of the state capitol “incorrectly claiming these standards will cost jobs, stifle innovation” and restrict consumer choice, NEEP’s Lis said the “same scare tactics” had been used for years by various industry groups opposing standards but have been “unequivocally proven false.” The standards proposed in the SB-455 will not ban “any kinds of televisions,” including plasma TVs and very large sets nor will it prevent TV makers from pursuing innovative technologies, he said. Standards often drive energy efficiency innovation, he said.