California gets set for 'green' energy-efficient televisions

California is to introduce stringent new standards for television sets to ensure they save energy.

The move is to counter the popularity of large, flatscreen TVs that use 40 per cent more power than old-style cathode ray tube sets.

The rules, approved by the California Energy Commission yesterday, require that from 2011 all new TVs sold in in the state will use 33 per cent less energy than current sets and 50 per cent less from 2013.

"This is a consumer-protection measure that will protect the environment ... and the benefits to Californians will begin to be felt almost immediately," said commission chair Karen Douglas.

The measure should save Californians at least $8 billion over 10 years in electricity costs and is expected to set a new industry standard everywhere.

But trade group the Consumer Electronics Association said a quarter of all TVs for sale today would fall short of the standards and have to be pulled from the market.

Small business coalition Californians for Smart Energy, said the rules "will destroy thousands of jobs".