Participating building owners can enter energy use data into a free online program. The program is called Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Owners will enter data before reporting to the city.
Building owners have access to step-by-step guidance to help make this process easier. Guidance documents and instructional videos are included.
Building owners can:
- Get their unique building ID for this program
- Enter their building data into the online Energy Star Portfolio Manager
- Report their data to the city by June 1 each year
Exemption requests
Buildings may be exempt from submitting their benchmarking data.
Exemption criteria may vary by city but can include:
- The building is experiencing financial distress
- The building is under 50% occupied
- The certificate of owner occupancy was issued less than two years prior to the deadline
Depending on the exemption request supporting documentation and written explanation may be required.
Exemptions are only valid for one reporting year and must be resubmitted each year.
For instructions on what classifies a building as exempt and how to submit the exemption form, watch exemption video.
File an exemption request
Deadline extension requests
The energy benchmarking reports are due on June 1, 2020. If you need more time to submit your building's data, please complete the Deadline Extension Form.
Extension requests will be reviewed by city staff and applicants will be notified of approval or denial. If your request is approved, you will have an additional 45-days to complete the benchmarking requirement, making the new deadline July 15th, 2020.
Note: extension requests should be submitted prior to the June 1st deadline and are only valid for the current reporting year.
Compliance checklist for Efficient Buildings Collaborative
Building owners can use this checklist to comply with the Efficient Buildings Collaborative using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Step 1: Create an account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and add your building(s)
Affected building owners must complete this prior to entering annual energy data:
Step 2: Find and attach your MN Efficient Buildings Collaborative ID
- Each building that must report energy and water performance has a unique ID. This ID is called the MN Efficient Buildings Collaborative ID.
- Adding this ID to your building ensures the data you report connects to the correct building during compliance checks.
- Affected building owners must find and attach their ID prior to entering annual energy data.
- To see if your building is required to comply with the Efficient Building Collaborative view the covered buildings list. You can sort the data by city and search for your building by address. There you’ll find your building’s EBC ID and assessor reported square footage. Covered buildings list.
- Add the ID to your building’s profile in Portfolio Manager under ‘Details’ > ‘Unique Identifiers’ > ‘Standard IDs’ > ‘MN Efficient Buildings Collaborative ID (EBC)’.
- To add the ID to your building’s profile in Portfolio Manager, watch the video for instructions.
Step 3: Enter your whole-building energy data (not including water)
Building owners must annually report whole-building energy data by June 1. The report must cover the previous calendar year (January 1 – December 31). This includes whole-building energy consumption of electricity, natural gas, solar, district steam, district chilled water, etc.
For the fuels that Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy provide, you may set-up automatic upload of aggregated whole-building energy data directly into Portfolio Manager, using their tools.
Instructions on how to set-up automatic upload:
Manual entry is required for all other energy sources but may be used for Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy. Watch the video for instructions.
Step 4: Enter your whole-building water data
Depending on your city’s requirements, you may also need to report whole-building water data by June 1 for the previous calendar year (January 1 – December 31).
Step 5: Run the data quality checker
Complete this step only after all energy (and possibly water) data for the entire calendar year is in Portfolio Manager.
- Run the Data Quality Checker under “Check for Possible Errors” within the ‘Summary’ tab. Watch the video for instructions.
- Ignore any waste and materials meter alerts.
Step 6: Submit your data to the city
Submit your data by June 1:
Additional user guides
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Resources:
Contacts
Efficient Buildings Collaborative Help Desk