Energy Efficiency Advocates Want Net Gear Power-Use Rules
Energy efficiency advocates, despite praising a voluntary agreement (VA) to cut set-top box energy use that has averted state and federal rules so far, want regulations on household gear that connects devices to broadband service. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and Natural Resources Defense Council agree with multichannel video programming distributors and makers of consumer electronics that the set-top VA that such companies and ACEEE and NRDC signed is a success. But staffers at those energy efficiency advocates and the Consumer Federation of America said in interviews Friday that they want regulators to consider adopting requirements for how much electricity broadband modems, Wi-Fi routers and other home Internet equipment can use.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
CEA and NCTA officials said their groups would oppose such regulation, though they and even some of the advocacy groups said no rules appear near release. For now, much of the focus is on the California Energy Commission, which both sides acknowledge proposed requirements for small network equipment but never moved to issue regulations. With an ongoing drought in California and CEC engaged on that, some said the commission may not move anytime soon toward final energy rules. And the U.S. Department of Energy, which held off on its rules in the face of the 2013 set-top VA, also isn't expected to take up another such proceeding soon. There are no open DOE rulemakings on such products as those covered in the VAs, a spokesman said.
While the efficiency groups agree with MVPDs and CE makers that industry is doing well implementing the set-top accord, which an independent audit released Thursday found is meeting its goals (see 1508060053), the groups said the next step of that accord could be challenging to put into place. And they said they're not sure the specifications the small network equipment VA would adhere to are ambitious enough. CEA and NCTA officials said they continue to welcome advocate participation in that SNE VA, which itself was unveiled in June (see 1506250038). They contend that pact will achieve savings more quickly than any rule would, and said the pact is premised on there not being new rules. They said they continue to have some optimism that advocates will join the SNE VA, just as they did for set-tops.
Advocates said they don't plan to take up the industry invitation. "The CEC has an open rulemaking for small network equipment and NRDC is supportive of their efforts to develop minimum energy efficiency standards for this category," said NRDC Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz, described as one of the most engaged advocates on the set-top and SNE efforts. He said it seems the SNE VA would adhere to the first stage of European efforts, not the stepped-up efficiency standards that began this year. The U.S. VA "appears likely to fall way short and provides further justification" for a CEC rulemaking, said Horowitz. NCTA General Counsel Neal Goldberg said that's an "apples-to-oranges" comparison.
Advocates "don’t really see the same benefits or the same reasons to join that agreement as we did for set-top boxes," said ACEEE Buildings Program Director Jennifer Thorne Amann. Instead of having advocates play regulator as they do with the set-top VA, that may be a role for regulators themselves, she said. There would be a better result through "tried and true methods like appliance standards," said Amann. She, like Horowitz, agreed with the CE and MVPD industries that the set-top energy-savings efforts were successful so far.
Rules are better than a voluntary accord, because getting regulations first would bolster advocates' ability to negotiate a deal, said CFA Research Director Mark Cooper. "This is a moment when the assertion of regulatory authority over these devices is really important. To implement them, to do a rulemaking, to make it stick. At that point, the industry will realize that they have an exposure here, and the negotiation process will be more balanced."
CEA "very much" wants to work with advocates on the SNE VA, said Vice President-Technology Policy Doug Johnson. "In fact, we have two seats reserved for them" on that pact's steering committee," he said. "They are very important to the success of a voluntary agreement." Just "as the set-top box voluntary agreement depends on there being a ceasing of regulatory activities, we’re pursuing this small network equipment initiative in lieu of regulation ... which we believe there is no justification for," said Johnson.
As for the set-top VA, it may be "more difficult" with newer services for 90 percent of MVPD-supplied set-tops by year-end 2016 to have something equivalent to light sleep or the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star v 4.1, said Johnson. That's what the set-top pact calls for. But Johnson said the accord provides enough flexibility that the goals should be met. "We’re on track to live up to our commitments and expect to meet them," NCTA's Goldberg said of the Tier 2 light-sleep requirements. Bright House Networks, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter, which is buying BHN and TWC, are among the participants of both VAs. So are AT&T, Verizon, Arris, Cisco and EchoStar.
Goldberg said he hopes the CEC lets the SNE VA "play out and that they will see the same positive results that we achieved in the set-top box proceeding." He said CEA, the California Cable & Telecommunications Association and NCTA have kept the CEC commissioner who's the agency's point of contact on such efforts, Andrew McAllister, up to speed on developments in both VAs. Given there are "a lot of hoops to jump through in their processes and given that we presented a voluntary agreement that will ensure further energy [use] reductions well before any CEC rules could take affect and given the CEC has a lot of other priorities given the water issue in California," Goldberg said that "the best bet for saving energy on this kind of agreement is the VA." He said he hopes advocates come to agree with that, too.