Cable

摘要

There's optimism multichannel video programming distributors will embark on a third stage of reducingrnpower consumption by set-top boxes after an expanded voluntary agreement (VA) among MVPDsrnthat now includes energy efficiency advocates ends Dec. 31, 2017, said two advocates. They said in interviewsrnthat they have some hope that a Tier 3 for further reductions in set-top energy, following the Tier 2rnin the new voluntary agreement disclosed Monday (CD Dec 24 p1), could come to fruition, though theyrnsaid further VA expansion would be a long way off. Jennifer Thorne Amann, American Council for anrnEnergy-Efficient Economy buildings program director, is "guardedly optimistic" for a Tier 3, she said.rn"We’ve laid the basis for a relationship where we hopefully can get there," and now she wants to see howrnthe industry does with the new commitments, she said. "We’ll be able to keep working with them to makerncontinued progress," because advocates are joining the steering committee overseeing the energy savings,rnsaid Amann. "It looked like a good opportunity for us certainly to capture a larger amount of savings" forrnset-tops than would have occurred absent the pact and waiting for the Department of Energy's rulemaking process, she said. DOE said Monday it's ending that process. The Environmental Protection Agency,rnwhich has targeted version 4 Energy Star specifications for set-top boxes, had no comment Tuesday on thernamended VA. "Industry was very willing to work with us to make sure we had a seat at the table" and tornmake continued improvements, said Amann. Any Tier 3 could start Jan. 1, 2018, said Natural ResourcesrnDefense Council Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz. Information on set-top boxes' energy use had been inrnthe public domain, and with the deal "now, through other forums, the information will be more readilyrnavailable," said Vice President Evan Groat of Arris, which is part of the VA. "If consumers are interested,rnit's something they can look at." At Cisco in recent years, it has "become clear that we can do better whenrnit comes to reducing set-top-box energy consumption," wrote Vice President Joe Chow, who runs therncompany's Connected Devices unit, on the blog of the participating VA company Monday (http://rnbit.ly/19e9IV9). He said the amended VA is a win for saving consumers money, protecting the environmentrnand providing "regulatory certainty for manufacturers and providers alike." — JM