California adopts nation's first energy-efficiency rules for computers

The California Energy Commission (CEC) on Wednesday passed sweeping energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors in an effort to reduce power costs, becoming the first state in the country to adopt such rules. The regulations promise to reduce energy consumed by computers by about one-third, saving ratepayers some $373 million in utility bills by 2027, and figure to have impacts far beyond California's state lines. Computers and computer monitors in the state use an estimated 5,610 gigawatts-hours of electricity, representing up to 3 percent of residential electricity use and 7 percent of commercial use. ""Such efficiency improvements are good for consumers, good for the electric system, good for the environment and frankly good for the green credentials of the manufacturers," said Andrew McAllister, a CEC commissioner who helped guide the new rules through a four-year process of consultations with industry that culminated in Wednesday's 5-0 vote in Sacramento.