California Implements Standards for Laptop/Phone Chargers

Starting next year, companies that make and sell chargers in the state of California will have to meet efficiency standards that will cut the waste by about 27 percent. Once fully implemented, the new rules should save 2,200 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, roughly enough to power Bakersfield. California consumers will save about $306 million per year, by the commission's estimate.

The standards weren't implemented without a fight.

Even though many chargers already on the market meet the new requirements, the Consumer Electronics Association argued against the proposal. The commission, according to the trade group, overestimates the amount of energy and money that consumers will save. The group also noted that the federal government has been considering its own efficiency rules for chargers.

The association expressed annoyance that the commission would schedule a vote on the standards during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Many of the people who would like to testify against the new rules, the association said, had to be in Vegas instead.