The California Energy Commission on Thursday proposed energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors that it says will save consumers hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Standards include more energy-efficient monitor screens, improved “sleep” modes for computers when not in use and enhancements in automatic power management. The CEC noted there are significant energy costs when computers and monitors are not in use.

When fully implemented, the standards could save 2,702 gigawatt hours a year, reducing consumers’ utility bills by a combined $430 million annually, the CEC said.

Proposed standards vary by computer type and allow the industry “flexibility to choose how to comply,” the CEC said in a media release. Standards for notebooks, small-scale servers, and workstation computers would take effect Jan. 1, 2017; standards for desktop computers and thin-clients would take effect Jan. 1, 2018.

Huong Truong