Expanded participation and on-mode commitments projected to eventually save consumers $1.8 billion annually

ARLINGTON, VA – September 16, 2026 – The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, leading television manufacturers, operating system vendors, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) announce major expansions to the voluntary agreement to improve the energy efficiency of televisions sold in the U.S. and Canada. Structured as an industry-led, voluntary framework that preserves independent business decision-making and product competition, while giving companies flexibility to pursue efficiency improvements in ways that work for their technologies, customers and business models. With additional participation and new on-mode measures to promote efficiency, the program is now expected to reduce consumers’ electricity bills by approximately $1.8 billion per year once fully implemented, while still fostering manufacturers’ ability to innovate and compete.

The expanded program now covers all major TV brands with the addition of Best Buy, Walmart and Skyworth. In addition to new industry members, NEEA and PG&E have endorsed and joined the agreement as energy advocate signatories. They join ACEEE in a role designed to assure the program’s rigor and transparency.

“The technology industry has a long-standing commitment to advancing the products that drive consumers’ daily lives while reducing electricity bills,” said Ally Peck, Director of Environmental Policy and Sustainability, CTA. “This voluntary agreement shows how industry leadership can deliver affordability and meaningful energy efficiency gains through a flexible framework that keeps pace with innovation, preserves competition and supports independent business decisions.”

The expansion marks a significant achievement in measuring the on-mode efficiency of televisions. Beginning in 2028, manufacturer signatories commit that at least 90% of their new televisions sold in the United States or Canada will meet or exceed on-mode efficiency levels developed with energy advocates to maximize savings through technology-specific formulas. Backlit Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs will be measured based on screen size, while OLED TVs will be measured on how efficiently they produce light. This hybrid approach is expected to deliver an estimated 2 TWh of additional energy savings over the first seven years of the agreement, in addition to the projected 10 TWh of annual savings from the program’s standby-mode power commitments adopted in 2023. These targets create perpetuating energy cost savings for consumers throughout the life of the product.

The program’s flexibility makes these ambitious targets possible by allowing manufacturers to independently decide how to design products that meet individual commitments. As new features or innovations are introduced, new efficiency approaches can be developed. This approach lets companies continue offering differentiated products at different price points while helping consumers save on monthly electricity costs. That makes the agreement a practical consumer affordability win: families can benefit from lower monthly electricity costs without sacrificing choice, performance or new features. It also shows how voluntary, industry-led action can deliver consumer savings and energy efficiency gains while reducing pressure for prescriptive regulation or federal mandates.

“This expanded agreement will make TVs more efficient and stakes out a path to further energy reductions from a product that is often used for many hours per day. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with CTA and manufacturers on monitoring the market and delivering additional energy bill savings to households,” said Matt Malinowski, ACEEE Buildings Director.

This is the first expansion of the TV voluntary agreement since manufacturers and supporting organizations agreed in 2020 to develop and promote an updated test method for measuring television energy use. In 2023, signatories committed that 90% of televisions sold in the United States or Canada will have a standby mode power level equal to or less than 2 watts beginning on April 1, 2026. View the full agreement here.

“The alliance applauds CTA’s leadership in advancing energy efficiency in a rapidly evolving television market,” said Jeff Harris, Chief Transformation Officer of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. “The continued use of the ANSI/CTA-2037-D standard, which NEEA helped develop with CTA, helps ensure television energy use is measured under real-world conditions. Combined with the voluntary agreement’s support for ENERGY STAR®, these efforts are expanding consumer access to televisions that deliver high-quality viewing experiences with lower energy use.”

Signatory manufacturers and supporting organizations will continue to measure progress through a steering committee and annual reports published on CTA.tech.

About Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®:

As North America’s largest technology trade association, CTA is the tech sector. Our members are the world’s leading innovators – from startups to global brands – helping support more than 17 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES® – the most powerful tech event in the world. Find us at CTA.tech. Follow us @CTAtech.