What is Benchmarking?

To benchmark the energy use of a building means to obtain information on the energy (i.e., electricity, natural gas, propane, other fuels) use in an entire building for a specific period to enable that energy use to be tracked or compared against other buildings. 

When building owners enter energy use information for a building into a measurement and tracking tool, such as Portfolio Manager® developed by the U.S. EPA through the ENERGY STAR® program, building owners can learn how the energy performance of their building compares to other similar buildings.  Metrics generated by Portfolio Manager® can help inform building owner decisions regarding energy efficiency improvements and retrofits. 

Assembly Bill 802 (AB 802)

Assembly Bill 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) establishes a new statewide building energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program.  AB 802 requires utilities to provide energy use data for “covered buildings” to the building owner or owner’s agent upon request, and requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to establish a benchmarking and public disclosure program.

Aggregated, whole-building data will be available to building owners of a “covered building” under AB 802.  Under the law, building owners (or authorized agents) are allowed to obtain the total energy use data (across all tenants) for their building, in most cases without obtaining authorization from their tenants.

Individual, tenant-specific meter data is available to building owner who secure individual consent and authorization from each tenant in the building. The data release authorization form, which when signed by a tenant provides explicit authorization for the utility to release tenants energy use to the building owner, can be downloaded below.

Benchmarking Forms

The owner of a covered building, or the owner’s agent, may request energy use data from Glendale Water and Power by completing and submitting the following documents:

• Data Request Form
• Proof of Building Ownership
• Customer Energy Data Release Forms (if applicable)

Once you’ve completed the required forms, email them to UsageRequest@glendaleca.gov. 

For more information, please call 818-548-3366.

California Energy Commission – Building Energy Use Benchmarking Program

The California Energy Commission, or CEC, is directed by AB 802 to establish a statewide building energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program.  In response to AB 802, the CEC developed regulations that govern how utilities shall provide energy use data to building owners, as well the information on building energy use that building owners will be required to disclose publicly.

A “Covered Building” is defined in the CEC regulations as “any structure used or intended to support or shelter any use or occupancy, other than a condominium development, meeting either or both of the following:

1. Receiving energy from a utility, with no residential utility accounts.
2. Having five or more active utility accounts of any one energy type, at least one of which is residential.

For more information on the California Energy Commission regulations, programs, and policies related to building benchmarking, visit https://www.energy.ca.gov/benchmarking/. You may also review the AB 802 Fact Sheet for further details. 

Getting Started with ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®

The first step to benchmarking a building is to create an account in Portfolio Manager, an online tool for measuring and tracking a building’s energy and water consumption.  For those new to building benchmarking, the Portfolio Manager starter kit helps users get acquainted with the tool:

• Print the Portfolio Manager quick start guide for a handy, at-a-glance guide to the basic steps of using Portfolio Manager.
• Use the data collection worksheet to find out the data needed to benchmark a property in Portfolio Manager.
• Visit the training section for Portfolio Manager how-to guides, short videos, and live and recorded training sessions.

For more information on Portfolio Manager®, visit https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov.