Metadata could signal e.g. number of MOPS required to decode a fame. As a result, the clock of processor could be reduced, or it could go into sleep mode.
Decoder can reduce brightness of display and compensate by increasing dynamic range of pixels toward full scale. Might work similarly for audio amplifier and signal dynamic range.
Switching to a lower complexity bitstream
In a DASH context, metadata can indicate the power consumption associated with each representation