Let’s Work with CEA on National TV Energy Standard, Advocacy Groups Say
Energy efficiency advocacy groups are “more than happy” to work with the CE industry to develop a “consensus” federal energy standard for TVs, the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships said. State TV energy efficiency bills being pushed by NEEP and other groups won’t result in a patchwork of regulations because they all are embracing the standards adopted by the California Energy Commission, said Jim O'Reilly, NEEP’s director of public policy. If the CE industry is “really concerned about a mishmash of state standards,” they should “come to the table and talk about a national consensus standard,” he said. “We'd be more than happy to do that with them."
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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy voiced doubts about CEA’s willingness to work with efficiency groups to devise a consensus national standard. CEA is a “trade association that tends to oppose standards and only endorses them as a very last resort,” ACEEE Executive Director Steve Nadel told us. “That makes it harder to reach agreement.” With other trade associations in the appliance sector, “there has always been give and take and therefore easier to reach agreement,” he said.
His group has made overtures to CEA about working on a standard and there’s been “no favorable response,” said NEEP’s O'Reilly. Best Buy, with whom NEEP has a “very good relationship,” had indicated it was willing to “sort of broker some discussions” on “how things could be done nationally with the consumer electronics association,” but those efforts have not “resulted in anything successful either,” he said.
CEA got no overtures for talks from NEEP, “certainly not in any formal way,” said Douglas Johnson, director of technology policy for the trade association. He said he knew of no effort by Best Buy to broker talks between CEA and advocacy groups. Best Buy did not address the issue in response to a request for comment. “Best Buy supports a national energy standard for televisions and we continue to work with all our partners to emphasize that position,” said Laura Bishop, senior director of government relations. It’s “pleased that the U.S. DOE has announced a rule-making on TV standards and we look forward to further discussion on this important issue,” she said.
As for ACEEE’s grouse that CEA wouldn’t be a partner in devising a national standard, Johnson said that’s because the advocacy group’s work with other industry sectors trade association is “dramatically different from the considerations and dynamics of the industry we represent.” There’s more than one way to achieve energy efficiency, he said, but when the ACEEE “devotes itself to creating new regulations and government standards and sees that as the only way, it certainly makes it difficult” to reach agreement. The CE industry hasn’t waited for government action to pursue energy efficiency, Johnson said. The industry has partnered with the federal government on the Energy Star program, he said. That program has “led the way in energy efficiency and has been driven by competition and innovation” in the CE industry, he said. “That is why we have energy-efficient products across the board in the CE industry today.” That’s the result of an “approach” that’s “very different from what ACEEE has advocated with other industry sectors,” he said.
ACEEE and NEEP justified their push for state TV standards despite the Department of Energy saying it would start a rulemaking on federal TV standards. With the department trying to “catch up on a number of rulemakings” it’s behind on, it’s unlikely that the DOE would complete a TV standard anytime soon, said NEEP’s O'Reilly. That’s the reason California went ahead with its own standards and other states are now borrowing California’s “analyses and research” to act, he said. As more states act, “it’s a way to facilitate the process at the federal level,” he said. Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, Wisconsin and Connecticut are considering TV energy efficiency legislation.
"There is a long history of states not wanting to wait for DOE to act,” said ACEEE’s Nadel. States aren’t sure DOE will act, or how quickly, he said. “Perhaps they want to set something up sooner that would take effect sooner.” State regulations do have “influence” on the DOE’s rulemaking, he said. All the states considering TV standards are looking to “mirror” California’s so industry concerns of a “patchwork” of regulations are “completely unfounded,” said Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. While the NRDC is “encouraged” by the DOE’s plan to develop a national TV standard, “one must recognize that it takes a long time for DOE to complete a rulemaking and that we are probably looking at a 2016 effective date at the earliest,” he said. “In the interim the states will pave the way for an effective DOE standard.”