A flat panel display power management system for a flat panel display screen in a portable electronic device is disclosed. The flat panel display power management system is capable of controlling the amount of power delivered to each pixel on the flat panel display screen. The portable electronic device can select a subset of important pixels that will continue to receive more power than the remaining pixels if the flat panel display power management system enters a reduced power mode. When the electronic device system determines that the user has been inactive for a predetermined amount of time or if the user manually requests low power mode, the flat panel display power management system enters the reduced power mode. In the reduced power mode, the flat panel display power management system reduces the power provided to the pixels that are not within the subset of important pixels.