Are you up to date on the mandatory energy benchmarking rules? Many cities around the country are requiring multifamily properties to report their utility usage for benchmarking purposes and many more cities are expected to follow suit. EPA created ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®, an online tool to measure and track energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Most mandatory benchmarking regulation require submission through this fee tool to fulfill their reporting requirements. Portfolios can also use it to benchmark the performance of one building or a whole portfolio of buildings. The tool can be found at https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/pm/login.html.
There has been a flurry of activity with several new cities throwing their hat in the ring within the last few months:
- Los Angeles
- Denver
- Orlando
- Evanston, Illinois
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Louis
- South Portland, Maine
Other areas requiring energy disclosure include NYC, DC, Chicago, Seattle and more. The full list of jurisdictions that require multifamily properties to disclosure energy usage can be found at www.nwp.com/benchmark.
Kent works at RealPage and helps apartment firms reduce operating costs related to utilities. You can connect with Kent at LinkedIn.com/in/kentmcd or Twitter.com/AptsKent.