BENCHMARKING & TUNE-UPS NEWS
 September 2024
(Non-residential and Multifamily Buildings > 20,000 SF)
Congratulations Seattle! 92% Benchmarking Compliance
The Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) is pleased to announce that more than 92% of required property owners have achieved compliance with the City’s benchmarking law for the 2023 reporting year. The deadline for reporting 2023 energy and emissions data was June 1, 2024, and the three-month enforcement grace period has now concluded.
Notices of Violation and Fines Issued
Property owners who failed to submit complete and accurate benchmarking reports to the City by September 4th are now in violation. OSE has issued Notices of Violation (“NOVs”) with fines via certified mail to the building owners of record and their Registered Agents.
Non-compliant property owners have been issued a single violation under the newly adopted two-tier fine structure:
-
$2000 penalty - buildings between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet
-
$4000 penalty - buildings larger than 50,000 square feet
NOV recipients must respond to violations within 30 days by either submitting an appeal online at seattle.gov/energybenchmarkingappeal or paying the fine. If you own multiple non-compliant properties that received NOVs, you must submit a separate appeal for each property. Property owners who submit an appeal and bring their property into compliance within 30 days of receiving the NOV will have all fines mitigated.
Please note that properties which achieve benchmarking compliance after 9/4/2024, but fail to submit an appeal or pay fines, have not resolved their violation. Check the benchmarking compliance portal to confirm your property’s reporting year 2023 compliance status. The OSE Director will conduct administrative review of submitted appeals and issue determinations to all appellants.
Additional PSE EnergyCAP Training
Are you out of compliance and in need of natural gas data to complete your 2023 benchmarking report? Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is hosting three additional trainings for new EnergyCAP users during the enforcement appeal window to support building owners and managers who must complete enrollment in in PSE EnergyCAP natural gas data exchange tool. The trainings will be held on select Thursdays (9/19, 9/26, and 10/3) from 1:00 – 2:00 PM. Click here for more information and to register.
(Non-residential Buildings 50,000 SF+)
Upcoming Building Tune-Up Deadlines
Cohort 2 Building Tune-Ups due October 1, 2024
Owners of Cohort 2 buildings (100,000-199,999 square feet) must complete their second cycle tune-up by October 1st, 2024. Warning letters will be sent to those that fail to achieve compliance and violations will be issued starting April 1st, 2025.
Enforcement for Overdue Cohort 1 Building Tune-Ups
Building owners of Cohort 1 properties (200,000 square feet and larger) who have not submitted a complete second cycle tune-up summary report by October 1, 2024 will be issued a Notice of Violation with a $20,000 penalty for non-compliance.
Cohort 3 Buildings Alternative Compliance due April 1, 2025
The extension, waiver, and alternative compliance deadline for owners of Cohort 3 buildings (70,000-99,999 square feet) is April 1, 2025. View the tune-up alternative compliance handout (PDF) for details on each alternative compliance pathway.
Buildings that recently changed ownership, have a low occupancy rate, or have permitted HVAC improvements underway may be eligible for one-year extensions. View the tune-up extensions and waivers resource (PDF) for a full list of circumstances allowing building owners more time to comply—and sometimes waive their tune-up obligations entirely.
Owners must submit all extensions, waivers, and alternative compliance requests in the Seattle Services Portal.
Cohort 3 building owners who do not obtain an extension, waiver, or alternative compliance must complete a tune-up by October 1, 2025.
New Tune-Up Alternative Compliance Pathway
Seattle created a new tune-up alternative compliance pathway for buildings achieving early compliance with the WA State Clean Building Performance Standard (CBPS). Commerce recently increased the early adopter incentive from $0.85 to $2 per square foot plus an additional $.05/sq ft incentive beyond the minimum EUI reduction of 15 kBTU/sf/year. The incentive increases are designed to cover up to 50% of improvement costs.
Attend the Green Jobs Green Futures Summit 2024
The Green Jobs Green Futures Summit is a one-day hands-on experiential learning event featuring immersive and interactive demo stations across the construction, manufacturing, transportation and technology sectors. The summit offers the opportunity for job seekers to discover career pathways in the growing green economy, learn from experts, network with potential employers, and explore how to contribute to a sustainable future. Job seekers and employers can learn more and register at the Green Jobs Green Futures Summit event page.
When: Thursday, September 26th, 2024, 12-4PM
Where: Fremont Foundry, 154 North 35th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
Energy Benchmarking: EnergyBenchmarking@seattle.gov | 206-727-8484
Building Tune-Ups: BuildingTuneUps@seattle.gov | 206-727-8863
|
