New York City Energy Benchmarking Reporting due May 1, 2024

In 2009, the City of New York (NYC) passed Local Law 84 (LL84), which places a crucial responsibility on owners of buildings that meet certain criteria established with the passage of the law. They are required to report annually by May 1 of each year on their property’s energy and water use from the previous calendar year. The information presented in each report is not just a formality, but a vital tool used by NYC to evaluate trends that will be considered in future-facing energy efficiency policies and programs. Your role as a building owner or facility manager is instrumental in this process.

LL84 was the first law passed in a series of regulations enacted to better understand city-wide energy consumption with the goal of combating the effects of climate change.

How do you know if your facility is required to report its benchmarking data?

Annually, in late winter or early spring, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) posts the Covered Buildings List (CBL) for the current reporting year. The CBL is organized primarily by borough and secondarily by block and lot. For each covered building, energy use must be reported by May 1. For some covered buildings, as designated on the CBL, automated water use data must also be reported.

How do you begin and submit an annual benchmarking report?

All benchmarking reporting must be completed using the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® tool. This user-friendly tool allows the property owner or manager to easily enter energy use data. Furthermore, energy utility providers such as Consolidated Edison provide data-sharing services to simplify this process, allowing the responsible person to avoid having to manually compile and analyze individual monthly use statements. Unlike energy use data, water use data must be updated in an automated fashion via the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); users must set up data exchange permissions with the DEP in order for this to be accomplished.

Once all pertinent data has been transmitted, the information must be uploaded along with the 2024 Reporting Template into Portfolio Manager®, which will process the data into a format specific to the NYC requirements. From there, reports can be submitted to the DOB for one or more facilities at once.

What if the May 1 deadline is missed?

If you do not submit a properly completed benchmarking report, building owners will incur a $500 fine and a DOB violation. A revised submission deadline of August 1 of the same year will then be imposed (three months from the original due date). If still not properly submitted by then, $500 fines and additional DOB violations will continue to be issued every three months until an acceptable submission is received by DOB, with a maximum penalty of $2,000 annually.

Walden has been helping our clients remain in compliance with benchmarking requirements for several years, keeping them free of punitive fines and frustrating DOB violations. Please give us a call today at 516-373-7662 to discuss how we can help you and answer any questions you may have.