Large Building Owners Must Report Energy Use

By Crystal Egelkamp and Kim Burke, Colorado Energy Office

Own a large building? You may be required to start filing reports on your building’s energy use later this year.

The “Energy Performance for Buildings” statute (HB21-1286) became law in 2021. This law requires owners of large commercial, multifamily, and public buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to report their whole-building energy use annually to the Colorado Energy Office.

The law was passed in response to the state’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap that established near-term strategies to meet the state’s economy-wide greenhouse gas reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. The goal is to help building owners increase energy efficiency, lower energy costs, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector.

As a result of this legislation, the Colorado Energy Office, working with Touchstone IQ, developed a statewide benchmarking program called Building Performance Colorado. BPC assists building owners with benchmarking their annual energy use through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free energy management tool used to track and assess energy consumption. By measuring and tracking energy use in buildings, building owners and tenants can better understand how their building’s energy performance compares to similar buildings and identify opportunities to cut energy waste.

The program launched a new website — buildingperformanceco.com — in March. It provides the necessary information around benchmarking, including an overview of the program and information on how to comply. The BPC program and website offer extensive resources, including:
• A benchmarking tutorial video series and guides
• Live trainings to guide building owners through the benchmarking process
• A fully staffed help center to assist building owners with program compliance

Building owners need to submit their 2021 energy use data by December 1, 2022. To find out if your building is covered by the statute, visit buildingperformanceco.com/benchmarking to learn more.

BPC will offer free trainings throughout the year on the benchmarking process and how to comply with the state’s requirements. May and June trainings are as follows:
• May 24, 2022 1p.m. MDT: Benchmarking 101
• May 26, 2022 11a.m. MDT: Benchmarking 102
• June 21, 2022 11a.m. MDT: Benchmarking 101
• June 23, 2022 1p.m. MDT: Benchmarking 102

Visit buildingperformanceco.com help to learn more or to register for a future training.

If you have any questions on whether or not these requirements pertain to you or you need information on how to comply with Colorado’s benchmarking requirements, call 888-513-0353 or email benchmarking@buildingperformanceco.com.