Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) & Benchmarking

Benchmarking in DC

Benchmarking is the process of tracking a building's energy and water usage, using a standard metric to evaluate its relative efficiency over time as well as to compare the building's efficiency to its peers nationwide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) free benchmarking software, ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, has become standard as cities look to drive energy efficiency and utility transparency.

The Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 established that all large private buildings over 50,000 gross square feet and District government buildings over 10,000 gross square feet, must annually benchmark and report their energy and water consumption to the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) for public disclosure.

The annual reporting deadline is April 1st of each year. Starting calendar year 2021 all privately owned buildings over 25,000 square feet will be required to benchmark (due April 1, 2022) and starting calendar year 2024 all privately-owned buildings over 10,000 square feet will be required to benchmark (due April 1, 2025), as mandated under the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018.

DOEE publishes summary results for each building on its website. DOEE also shares all benchmarking data collected with the DCSEU to help the DCSEU in its mission of driving energy efficiency improvements throughout the city.

Reporting Requirements

BEPS Reporting Requirements Table
Building Size	Reporting Requirement Begins
50,000+ ft²	2014 (with 2013 data)
25,000-49,999 ft²	2022 (with 2021 data)
10,000-24,999 ft²	2025 (with 2024 data)

What are the BEPS?

DC's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) are the first of their kind in the nation and were established by the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2018 to support greenhouse gas and energy consumption reduction goals in the District. These standards establish a minimum threshold for building energy performance by property type and are no lower than the local median ENERGY STAR score. BEPS applies to all privately owned and DC-owned buildings over 10,000 square feet and will roll out to all these buildings over three 6-year BEPS Periods. We are currently in BEPS Period One, which is applicable to privately owned buildings over 50,000 square feet.

Learn more about BEPS