If the California Energy Commission moves forward with a proposal to require TVs meet new energy efficiency requirements, the state would lose $50 million in sales tax and retailers would have to cut 4,600 jobs here, according to a report out today by the Consumer Electronics Association.

And that, says the CEA, is because the higher standards would essentially prohibit TVs above 40-inches from being sold in California, a story you may have read earlier (see “State considers ban on big screen TVs”).

The report also mentions that most Energy Star-approved TVs don’t meet the state’s highest goals for efficiency — a fact that tech-review site CNET also points out.  

But wait! There is another side to the tale. The state’s. The California Energy Commission says that TVs today use up 10 percent of a household’s energy use (a factoid cited by PG&E, actually). It wants TV makers to reduce energy consumption by 33 percent by 2011, and 49 percent by 2013.

Lost jobs? Umm … not quite, says the state commission.

“The Consumer Electronics Association assumes that televisions that do not comply with the proposed efficiency standards will simply go away, leaving a void in the marketplace. For an industry that prides itself on innovation, this premise is simply flawed. Innovation, like energy efficiency, will drive the market and offer televisions with new features for a media-savvy consumer. New energy efficient models will take the place of inefficient TVs offering the same or better performance. Consumers overwhelmingly want efficient TVs; retailers will now be able to market their products to a desirable demographic,” says the state’s FAQ page.

You can read both sides by clicking the links below.

Both sides count Vizio as a supporter. Vizio, the Irvine-based TV maker, has become one of the largest big-screen TV sellers in the past two years. The state cites Vizio as a supporter while the CEA points to a Vizio co-founder’s note that making more energy-efficient TVs would raise the cost of every TV by “tens of dollars.” 

Vizio, in fact, says that the Eco TV, its first energy-efficient TV introduced last fall, was so successful, the company plans to roll out the technology to all of its TVs.

“We’re way ahead of the curve as far as energy requirements,” said Jim Noyd, a Vizio spokesman. “We introduced that one TV last year and now we have a whole group of TVs from 19 to 42 inches. They exceed the Energy Star ratings by up to 25 percent. … We’re also working with the rest of the Vizio line to meet the Energy Star ratings for 2009.”

Its 32-inch LCD Eco HDTV, by the way, is $499.

**LINKS**

• Read the Consumer Electronics Association’s report here: Consumer Electronics Association review of California’s energy-efficient TV proposal.
• Read the California Energy Commission’s proposal here: Draft Efficiency Standards for Televisions, Phase I
• Read the state’s FAQ page here: Energy Efficient Standards for TVs
• Read C/NET’s analysis and its own guide to TV energy usage: California’s tough TV power-use standard forces improved efficiency

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