As a reminder, New York City's benchmarking law (Local Law 84/09) requires owners of properties 50,000 square feet or larger to submit their building's annual energy usage by May 1, 2015. The law is part of the city's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan designed to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings. Here's a quick overview:
Submitting Utilities Data
The building's utilities data─electricity, gas, and fuel oil or steam─from January 1 to December 31, 2014 must be entered into the EPA's Portfolio Manager website at energystar.gov/benchmark.
Con Edison and National Grid Customers
Con Edison strongly recommends that customers request their building's utilities data by April 15 to allow enough time to meet the May 1 filing deadline. National Grid advises submitting your request no later than April 25.
Water Data Collection
The Department of Environmental Protection manages New York City’s water supply and wastewater treatment and provides all water consumption information to properties eligible and covered under Local Law 84/09. Properties that benchmarked their 2013 data in 2014 by registering in the Portfolio Manager for automatic DEP water consumption data uploading do not have to reregister again this year. Water consumption data for those properties will be automatically uploaded.
Buildings that had an automatic meter reader installed for the entire calendar year of 2014, however, will be required to benchmark their water consumption.
List of Covered Buildings
If you are not sure whether your building is 50,000 square feet or larger, check the list of covered buildings required to comply with Local Law 84/09.
Violations for Failed Compliance
Buildings that do not submit their benchmarking reports by May 1 will face a $500 penalty each quarter until the report is filed, with a maximum of $2,000 per year.
RAND's Benchmarking Services
RAND provides the following services to help your building comply with Local Law 84/09:
- Create an account log-in and building profile on the Portfolio Manager website.
- Assist building owners and managers with obtaining energy usage information.
- Enter energy usage data into the Portfolio Manager.
- Generate the custom Energy Report required for submission to the New York City Department of Finance. The Energy Report will include the building's profile, summary information, and estimates of its energy usage (BTUs and dollar amount per square foot).
- Answer any follow-up questions about the Energy Report.
Free Benchmarking Estimate
If you have questions or would like a free estimate to benchmark your building's energy usage, please contact RAND at 212-675-8844; info@nullrandpc.com.
Visit the PlaNYC's Benchmarking page for more information and updates on Local Law 84/09.
