Energy Benchmarking Requirements

Energy Benchmarking is the process of tracking a building's annual energy use and using a standard metric to compare the building's performance against past performance and to its peers nationwide. Benchmarking improves our understanding of energy consumption patterns; helps identify energy saving opportunities within a portfolio of buildings; and manages business bottom line through consistent data collection and tracking.

Montgomery County's  Energy Benchmarking Law requires building owners to:

  1. Track the energy use of buildings 25,000 gross square feet and greater in the county in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager,
  2. Have data verified by a Recognized Data Verifier the first year and every three years thereafter, and
  3. Report data to the County annually for public disclosure.
  4. Meet long-term site energy use intensity performance standards. For more information on compliance with Building Energy Performance Standards, visit DEP’s  BEPS website.

 

Covered Buildings and Deadlines

Public and privately-owned buildings 25,000 gross square feet and larger are covered by the energy benchmarking requirement and must report energy data to DEP by June 1 each year. 

DEP’s Covered Buildings Inventory lists buildings that are covered by the law. This inventory is an approximation, meant to raise awareness about the law and help identify the buildings covered by the law. Each building owner will need to confirm their own building square footage to determine coverage under the law.

Buildings first begin benchmarking per the following timeline:

Benchmarking Law Compliance

Compliance with the County's Benchmarking Law is a multi-step process that must be completed annually. By following the steps below, you’ll be able to benchmark your building, have the data verified, and report data to DEP.
DEP requires the use of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to enter and report data each year.

Please review the Montgomery County Building Energy Benchmarking HOW-TO GUIDE (Google Doc) for full instructions on how to report to DEP.

Need help?

Book a Benchmarking Support virtual meeting with one of DEP staff here. Please book a 30 minute time slot and add your Montgomery County Building ID, building address, and a brief summary of your question in the "Notes" section.

Benchmarking Help

Email the Benchmarking Helpdesk or call us at 240-777-7707 for questions about the benchmarking law, building coverage, and to be connected with resources at EPA’s Portfolio Manager or at local utilities.

You can also book a Benchmarking Support virtual meeting with one of DEP staff here. Please book a 30 minute time slot and add your Montgomery County Building ID, building address, and a brief summary of your question in the "Notes" section.

Sign-up for the Commercial Energy News, a newsletter that includes all of the Benchmarking Law updates, as well as Commercial PACE financing news, green building news, and commercial energy events.

  • Official Guide:  DEP has put together a comprehensive, set-by-step guide for complying with the Building Energy Benchmarking Law in Montgomery County, which includes background information, clarifying instructions, and details about reporting benchmarking data to the County. Please review the Montgomery County Building Energy Benchmarking HOW-TO GUIDE (Google Doc) for full instructions on how to report. 
  • Determine Building Coverage and Locate the Montgomery County Building ID:
    • DEP’s  Private Covered Buildings Inventory .
    • The  Building Look Up  tool allows you to search by address to view the building's ID, estimated floor area, and benchmarking status.
    • Online GIS map created from current Maryland tax assessment records to locate the parcel that your building sits on, and see what other buildings share your parcel.
  • Montgomery County Building Energy Benchmarking Reporting Portal: Reporters must use the Montgomery County Building Energy Benchmarking Reporting Portal to submit your annual benchmarking report to Montgomery County. Within the Portal, you can:
    • Claim your building(s)
    • Enter and manage contact info
    • Submit an extension, waiver, or exemption request
    • Submit your annual benchmarking report
    • Re-report data for previous calendar years or submit revisions to benchmarking data
    • View compliance status and disclosed data for each building
  • Apply for Technical Assistance: Montgomery County Green Bank provides technical assistance to help connect building owners to qualified benchmarking vendors and can also help offset the cost for first-time benchmarkers.
  • Find a Vendor: Montgomery County Benchmarking Ambassadors have completed training about complying with Montgomery County's law and learned how to access data from utilities.
  • Request Aggregated Data from Utilities:
    • Pepco customers can find information on getting their Pepco data at Pepco Energy Benchmarking.
    • Washington Gas customers can find information on getting aggregated gas bill data at Washington Gas Energy Benchmarking
    • Potomac Edison account holders can log-in to their account on the First Energy website to retrieve their data electronically or send an  email with a list of meter numbers servicing your property for commercial aggregated usage data requests.
    • BG&E offers information on getting electronic BGE energy data at Automated Benchmarking.
  • Submit Benchmarking Data to DEP: Review our how-to guide with screenshots of how to submit data to DEP to close out your reporting.
  • Common Issues: Review common issues that building owners may experience that prevent a benchmarking report from being accepted:  Common Issues with Montgomery County Benchmarking Reports
  • Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide (PDF, 508KB) offers the basics to setting up your Portfolio Manager account, including adding your property, entering your energy data, and seeing your results.
  • Details on Entering Your Utility Bill Data (PDF, 567KB) walks you through the steps to set up a meter and correctly enter data, add data to an existing meter, complete spreadsheet uploads, and information on Web Services (automated benchmarking).
  • Portfolio Manager Trainings offers both live and recorded webinars, written and video tutorials, and how-to’s for specific functions of the software.
  • Portfolio Manager Technical Support offers expert advice and guidance on how to benchmark your building(s) in Portfolio Manager.

Enforcement

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for the implementation of this law. The Benchmarking Law is enforceable under Method 2 regulations (including fines for noncompliance), and any violation of the law is a Class A violation. DEP will send out Notice of Violation to any building owner of a covered building who does not comply with the Law. Note that DEP is available to assist any building owner to help them comply with the law.

More on Benchmarking


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