Energy Benchmarking Reports in New York City

In 2009, New York City passed Local Law 84 (LL84), which requires owners of buildings that meet certain criteria to report annually on their property’s energy and water use. The law was passed to determine how much energy and water is consumed by the City’s buildings and, furthermore, to identify the usage of individual industries. The data could then be used to classify opportunities for improvement in energy and water consumption based on data gleaned from benchmarking.

LL84 was the first in a series of sweeping legislation enacted by the City Council in the past decade and a half, which was created to combat climate change and make the air quality in New York City the best of any large city nationwide. Other such laws include Local Law 87 (LL87) and Local Law 97.

The benchmarking reports pertaining to LL84 only apply to buildings that are over 25,000 square feet, two or more buildings on the same lot that cumulatively exceed 100,000 square feet, or condo developments with two or more buildings that also exceed 100,000 square feet. If you are unsure if your building or development falls into the list of covered buildings, you can access the Covered Buildings List that is released by the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) each year by clicking this link.

In 2016, the law was amended to lower the size of individual buildings that must comply from 50,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet.

Two things should be noted. First, buildings larger than 50,000 square feet are also subject to LL87, which requires energy audits and retro-commissioning every ten years. Qualified consultants can help perform those tasks if your building falls into that category. Second, buildings that meet certain conditions detailed in the amended law are exempt from benchmarking, regardless of size.

To perform benchmarking, a consultant, such as Walden, will analyze the annual resource usage of your building or property and calculate performance as compared to other facilities.

It is important to note that if you failed to meet your reporting obligations by the deadline (May 1), you will incur a fine, which will repeat every quarter up to a maximum of $2,000 per year, and an open violation on the building/development with DOB.

If you need help determining what laws will impact your facility, call Walden today at 516-373-7662. We have experience helping building owners comply with these laws and can help you too.