The California Energy Commission has passed sweeping energy-efficiency standards for computers and monitors in an effort to reduce power costs, becoming the first state in the nation to adopt such rules.

The regulations promise to reduce energy consumed by computers by about one-third, saving ratepayers about $373 million in utility bills by 2027, and figure to have effects far beyond California’s state lines.

Computers and computer monitors in the state use an estimated 5,610 gigawatt-hours of electricity, representing up to 3% of residential electricity use and 7% 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 commission member 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.

Read more (Los Angeles Times)