Canada’s top pay-TV operators are following through on a set-top energy-efficiency plan that has already proven successful in the U.S.
Operators in the Great White North will participate in a voluntary program aimed at not only reducing energy consumption from 3.4 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2016 to 2.7 TWh in 2021, but also cutting as much as 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Pay-TV service providers participating in the program include Bell, Cogeco Communications, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, and Vidéotron; collectively, they serve more than 88% of the Canadian pay-TV market. Vendors ARRIS and EchoStar Technologies are also signatories.
These companies worked with federal and provincial governments, as well as local utilities, to hammer out new energy use guidelines for set-tops.
At least 90% of all new set-top boxes purchased beginning in 2017 are expected to meet the energy efficiency standards set out in the voluntary agreement.
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Leading U.S. operators carved out a similar initiative a few years ago. In the summer of 2015, the NCTA published a release touting that American consumers had collectively saved $500 million on their energy bills in the first two years of the program.