The California Energy Commission has ordered manufacturers to reduce by 40 percent the electricity used by chargers that re-power cell phones, lap top computers and other battery-operated devices.
Adam Gottleib with the Commission says more than 2,000 gigawatt hours can be saved every year once everyone's chargers conform to the new efficiency regulation.
GOTTLEIB: "The amount of money that will be saved by putting in this simple fix will be more than $300 million a year. The standard phases in three parts. It's consumer products in 2013, then industrial in 2014 and commercial in 2017."
A number of products sold in California already comply with the new standard. The Commission says 1.25 million homes could be powered with the electricity currently being wasted by inefficient chargers.
