DOB Issues Energy Rating Label Violations, Extends Benchmarking Deadline

The DOB recently released a service update extending the energy benchmarking compliance deadline to June 1. Typically, the deadline for submitting benchmarking data for applicable buildings is May 1. According to the service update, the extension is due to a "technological deficiency."

In a news release, the NYC Sustainability Help Center added: “If your property did not receive complete utility uploads, know that corrections are being updated in Portfolio Manager on a daily basis. Con Edison will notify you when corrections have been made to your account. Once the corrections to your Portfolio Manager account have been made, and everything else in your account is complete and accurate, please submit (or resubmit) your benchmarking report to the city.”

In another service update, the DOB announced that beginning April 29, 2021, it will issue violations to owners of buildings that appear on the NYC Benchmarking Covered Buildings List who fail to post an Energy Efficiency Rating Label as required by Local Law 33 of 2018.

The backdrop: NYC's Benchmarking Law (LL84/09) requires owners of individual buildings larger than 50,000 SF, or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 SF, to annually measure their energy and water consumption in a process called benchmarking. Water, electricity, gas, and fuel or steam usage are collected and tracked by the city to help owners use less energy and save money.             

In 2016, NYC passed Local Law 133 which expands the list of buildings required to benchmark to include buildings mid-sized buildings 25,000 to 50,000 SF in size.

And Local Law 95 of 2019, which amended Local Law 33 of 2018, requires owners to print and display the building Energy Efficiency Rating Label in a conspicuous location near each public entrance within 30 days after Oct. 1 of every year. The label displays the energy efficiency grade that's made available by the DOB every year on Oct. 1.

The bottom line: If your building is on the covered building list, you should submit your energy benchmarking data as soon as its feasible to do so and be sure your building's Energy Efficiency Rating Label is posted near the building entrance.

Once a satisfactory benchmarking report is submitted, there’s no additional responsibility until the following year. Building owners who don’t submit a fully compliant report by June 1 will be subject to violations for each quarter they have been noncompliant. Failure to submit the report will result in a penalty of $500. Continued failure to report usage by the next quarterly deadline may result in additional violations penalties of $500 per violation, up to $2,000 per year.

The DOB may also issue a Notice of Violation to any property on the Covered Buildings List that failed to comply with the Local Law 33 of 2018. Failure to timely display the Building Energy Efficiency Rating Label will result in a fine of $1,250.

The DOB's energy benchmarking compliance instructions can be found here.