§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on how many power stations would not need to be used if everyone stopped leaving their televisions and computers on standby; and what plans there are for a European Union directive that would reduce the power consumption of electrical goods while in standby mode. [16747]
§ Mr. WilsonEstimates from DEFRA' s Market Transformation Programme suggest that in 2000 electricity consumed in standby mode by televisions was 980 GWh, domestic PCs consumed 670 GWh, while office PCs consumed 1,300 GWh. On the basis of these estimates, total electricity consumption by these appliances equate to just under 1 per cent. of all electricity consumed in the UK in 2000. This is roughly equivalent to the output of one mid-range CCGT power station. However, since many of these appliances would not be in standby at peak times there is still a need for this power station.
While I am not aware of any plans for a directive governing the power consumption of electronic equipment in standby mode, there are already a number of voluntary agreements in place which seek to establish minimum standards for the power consumption of electronic equipment in standby mode. These include voluntary agreements with industry in respect of TVs, VCRs, digital TV services and external power supplies.
In addition, the recent EU/US agreement will extend into Europe the use of voluntary energy labelling of office equipment via the US EPA's Energy Star scheme which requires minimum standards for computers and other office equipment in standby mode before the label can be used.
The European Commission will also shortly be making proposals for a Framework Directive for Minimum Energy Efficiency Requirements for End-Use Equipment which may cover this area too.