5 Colo. Code Regs. § 1001-32-B

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 20, October 25, 2024

Part 5 CCR 1001-32-B - Benchmarking and Reporting Requirements

I. By June 1, 2024, and by June 1 of each year thereafter, covered building owners must report benchmarking data for the previous calendar year and additional information as specified below to the CEO on a CEO approved form. Owners of newly constructed buildings (i.e., buildings that were not built or occupied such that they had 2021 benchmarking data to submit by the initial reporting deadline of December 1, 2022) must start collecting benchmarking data once the owner has received a certificate of occupancy for the building and submit their first annual benchmarking data report the subsequent year (e.g., for a building with a certificate of occupancy starting March 1, 2023, submit by June 1, 2024, the building data from March 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023). Before submitting a benchmarking report, the covered building owner must run any automated data-checking function of the benchmarking tool and correct any errors discovered. The benchmarking data reported to the CEO must include the following.

I.A. Compliance pathway selection.

I.A.1. In the June 1, 2024, report, covered building owners, except for owners of public buildings subject to Section I.A.6., must specify which compliance pathway in Part C, Section I. the covered building owner will follow to reduce the building greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve the 2026 targets. If a covered building owner does not specify their chosen compliance pathway, the covered building owner must reduce building greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the energy efficiency pathway in Part C, Section I.A.1.

I.A.2. In the June 1, 2028, report, covered building owners, except for owners of public buildings subject to Section I.A.6., must specify which compliance pathway in Part C, Section I. the covered building owner will follow to reduce the building's greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve the 2030 targets. If a covered building owner does not specify their chosen compliance pathway, the covered building owner must reduce building greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the energy efficiency compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.A.1.

I.A.3. Covered building owners who specify the standard percent reduction compliance pathway in Part C, Sections I.A.3. or I.B.2. must submit each year of benchmarking data from 2021 up to the notification year (e.g., for a June 1, 2024, notification submit 2021-2023 data). New covered buildings for which a 2021 baseline does not exist must provide each year of benchmarking data starting with and following the year the owner receives a certificate of occupancy for the building up to the notification year.

I.A.4. Covered building owners, except for covered buildings described in Part C, Section I.D., who did not submit a compliance pathway selection in accordance with Sections I.A.1. or I.A.2. must comply by default with the energy efficiency compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.A.1. until a compliance pathway selection is submitted. Covered buildings described in Part C, Section I.D. must comply by default with a standard percent reduction compliance pathway.

I.A.5. Covered building owners who are assigned the energy efficiency compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.A.1. pursuant to Part B, Section I.A.4. may still select a percent reduction compliance pathway in either Part C, Sections I.A.3. or I.B.2. if the covered building owner submits their benchmarking data for each year from 2021 up to the current reporting year (e.g., for a June 1, 2024, report submit 2021-2023 data). New covered buildings for which a 2021 baseline does not exist must provide each year of benchmarking data starting with and following the year the owner receives a certificate of occupancy for the building.

I.A.6. Owners of public buildings

I.A.6.a. That become subject to performance standards under Part C between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2026, must notify the CEO no later than sixty (60) days or in its next benchmarking report following completion of a construction or renovation project as described in Part A, Section II.B., whichever is sooner, of their chosen compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.

I.A.6.b. That become subject to performance standards under Part C on or after January 1, 2027, must notify the CEO in its next benchmarking report following completion of a construction or renovation project as described in Part A, Section II.B. of their chosen compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.

I.A.6.c. That specify the standard percent reduction compliance pathway in Part C, Sections I.A.3. or I.B.2. must submit each year of benchmarking data from 2021 up to the notification year (e.g., for a June 1, 2024, notification submit 2021-2023 data). Owners of public buildings for which a 2021 baseline does not exist must provide each year of benchmarking data starting with and following the year the owner receives a certificate of occupancy for the building up to the notification year.

I.A.6.d. That do not specify their chosen compliance pathway must comply by default with the energy efficiency compliance pathway in Part C, Section I.A.1. until a compliance pathway selection is submitted.

I.B. A physical description of the covered building and descriptions of its operational characteristics, including

I.B.1. The name of the covered building, if any.

I.B.2. The physical street address of the covered building, or, if no street address is assigned, then the latitude and longitude of the building or buildings.

I.B.3. The primary use(s) of the covered building.

I.B.4. The covered building's gross floor area.

I.B.5. The years in which the covered building has been certified by ENERGY STAR and the most recent date of certification, if applicable.

I.B.6. The data generated by the benchmarking tool for the covered building, including

I.B.6.a. The ENERGY STAR score, if applicable.

I.B.6.b. Monthly energy use by fuel type.

I.B.6.c. Annual electricity use by the covered building associated with the customer-owned retail distributed generation system or electricity purchased from retail distributed generation, if applicable, subject to the requirements of Part C, Sections I.B.1.b. or I.B.1.c.

I.B.6.d. Annual electricity produced by the customer-owned retail distribution generation system in kilowatt-hours (kWh) that is exported to the grid and not associated with the covered building's electricity use, if applicable.

I.B.6.e. Site energy-use intensity and source energy-use intensity.

I.B.6.f. Weather-normalized site energy-use intensity and source energy-use intensity.

I.B.6.g. Confirmation from the benchmarking tool that data quality has been checked and no errors were identified by the benchmarking tool.

I.B.6.h. Annual total electricity consumption, in kilowatt-hours (kWh), if applicable.

I.B.6.i. Annual total gas consumption, in British Thermal Units (Btu), if applicable.

I.B.6.j. Monthly peak electricity demand, if available for reporting through the benchmarking tool, if applicable.

I.B.7. Greenhouse gas emissions, including total, indirect, and direct emissions.

I.B.8. The name of the gas and/or electric utility provider(s) for the covered building.

I.B.9. The type and number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations associated with the building and all relevant meter information.

I.B.10. Covered buildings that are marijuana cultivation facilities must report their property type as "manufacturing" in the benchmarking tool.

I.C. In addition to the data generated by the benchmarking tool, covered building owners must report to the CEO the following information, if applicable.

I.C.1. A change in property type for a covered building, if applicable, including the prior property type(s) and the new property type(s), as well as supporting documentation for the new property type(s) designation since the previous benchmarking report.

I.C.2. Any AIRS IDs associated with the covered building or covered buildings reported as a campus.

I.D. A demonstration of progress towards meeting the building performance standards in Part C. Such demonstration may include, but is not limited to, documentation of completed or planned energy efficiency measures or replacements of fossil fuel equipment with high-efficiency electric equipment, including dates completed and/or the timeframe for any planned measures or replacements, as well as results from the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Building Emissions Calculator in a spreadsheet (.xlsx) file downloaded from the calculator.

I.E. Covered building owners who utilize their customer-owned retail distributed generation system or renewable energy resource as specified in Part C, Section I.B. must submit documentation of the ownership and retirement of their renewable energy credits to demonstrate compliance.

I.F. The following covered building owners may report benchmarking data at the campus-wide level.

I.F.1. The owner of multiple covered buildings that are part of a master metered group of buildings without sub-metering.

I.F.2. The owner of a correctional facility, local jail, or private-contract prison, as defined in 17-1-102, CRS (2022); 31-15-401(1)(j), CRS (2022); municipal jail, as authorized in 31-15401(1)(j), CRS (2022); or juvenile detention facility governed by Part 15 of Article 2.5 of Title 19 of Colorado Revised Statutes (2022).

I.F.3. The owner of a public building that is a covered building.

I.G. Covered building owners reporting benchmarking data at the campus-wide level must also submit documentation of the number of covered buildings that are part of the campus; the property type of each of the covered buildings; the meter information for each building; and the gross floor area, including parking, of each of the covered buildings.

I.H. Covered building owners must include in the 2027 through 2030 benchmarking data report a demonstration that the covered building met the 2026 site EUI, greenhouse gas emission reduction target, data center target, or building specific target as provided in Part C.

I.H.1. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Section I.A., must include the 2026, or subsequent year through 2029 (e.g., in the 2028 report include the data reflecting 2027) results from the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, specifically the weather-normalized site EUI. In meeting the site EUI targets in Part C, Section I.A., individual building site EUIs must be normalized for weather and, if and when available in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, normalized for occupancy.

I.H.2. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Section I.B., must include the 2026, or subsequent year through 2029 (e.g., in the 2028 report include the data reflecting 2027) results from the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Building Emissions Calculator in a spreadsheet (.xlsx) file downloaded from the calculator. Building owners must also include, if applicable, documentation of the building's high-efficiency electric equipment, including, but not limited to, the equipment's ENERGY STAR certification, compliance with FEMP efficiency requirements, compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1 or IECC 2021, or newer requirements if applicable.

I.H.3. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Sections I.C. or I.D., must demonstrate that the covered building has met its applicable building specific target for 2026, or subsequent year through 2029 (e.g., in the 2028 report include the data reflecting 2027).

I.H.4. Building owners demonstrating compliance through an adjustment under Part C, Section II. must include the specific adjusted timeline or target as approved by the CEO and documentation demonstrating the building owner's progress on the submitted plan to achieve an adjusted timeline, if applicable.

I.I. Covered building owners must include in the 2031 benchmarking data report, and each year thereafter, a demonstration that the covered building met the 2030 site EUI, greenhouse gas emission reduction target, data center target, or building specific target as provided in Part C.

I.I.1. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Section I.A., must include the 2030, or subsequent year (e.g., in the 2032 report include the data reflecting 2031) results from the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, specifically the weather normalized site EUI. In meeting the site EUI targets in Part C, Section I.A., individual building site EUIs must be normalized for weather and, if and when available in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, normalized for occupancy.

I.I.2. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Section I.B., must include the 2030, or subsequent year (e.g., in the 2032 report include the data reflecting 2031) results from the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Building Emissions Calculator in a spreadsheet (.xlsx) file downloaded from the calculator. Building owners must also include, if applicable, documentation of the building's high-efficiency electric equipment, including, but not limited to, the equipment's ENERGY STAR certification, compliance with FEMP efficiency requirements, compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1 or IECC 2021, or newer requirements if applicable.

I.I.3. Building owners demonstrating compliance under Part C, Sections I.C. or I.D., must demonstrate that the covered building has met its applicable building specific target for 2030, or subsequent year (e.g., in the 2032 report include the data reflecting 2031).

I.I.4. Building owners demonstrating compliance through an adjustment under Part C, Section II. must include the specific adjusted timeline or target as approved by the CEO and documentation demonstrating the building owner's progress on the submitted plan to achieve an adjusted timeline, if applicable.

II. Waivers, extensions, and exemptions

II.A. Waivers

II.A.1. A covered building owner may seek a waiver from the annual requirement to report benchmarking data in Part B, Section I. The waiver request must be submitted on a CEO approved form. To seek a waiver, the covered building owner must submit waiver documentation to and receive approval from the CEO. The covered building owner must submit a new waiver request for each year the owner is seeking a waiver. Covered building owners applying for a report waiver for the calendar year to be benchmarked must submit a waiver application to the CEO any time after June 1 of the calendar year to be benchmarked and on or before May 1 of the reporting year (e.g., for calendar year 2023 data, the waiver request must be submitted between June 1, 2023, and May 1, 2024). The CEO may approve an alternate timeline for submitting a waiver request on a case by case basis. A benchmarking waiver request must establish that the covered building has met one or more of the following conditions for the calendar year to be benchmarked.

II.A.1.a. The covered building was unoccupied for at least thirty consecutive days of the year.

II.A.1.b. A demolition permit was issued for the entire covered building. Submission of a copy of the demolition permit is required.

II.A.1.c. The covered building met one or more of the conditions for financial hardship.

II.A.1.d. The covered building does not meet a qualifying utility's aggregation threshold and one or more of the utility customers refused to provide the owner with permission to access the utility customer's relevant energy-use data. The covered building owner must provide proof to the CEO that it requested permission from the utility customer or utility customers withholding consent at least thirty days before the benchmarking report was due, and the owner must submit a plan to the CEO to include an energy-use data sharing permission provision in the next lease renewal for the building's tenants.

II.A.1.e. The covered building has four or more utility customers, is not located within a qualifying utility's service territory, and the owner is unable to obtain aggregated data from the utility that serves the covered building.

II.A.2. A covered building owner who is not listed in Part B, Section I.F., may seek a waiver from the annual requirements to report benchmarking data on a per building basis and request to instead submit benchmarking data as a campus if there is a compelling state or national security interest for the covered building owner to do so. The covered building owner must provide information to the CEO documenting why they are requesting to submit benchmarking data as a campus. The CEO may work with the covered building owner to permit the owner to submit benchmarking data in a format other than through the benchmarking tool in order to address state or national security interests related to data reporting.

II.B. Extensions

II.B.1. A covered building owner may request a time extension from the CEO to submit a benchmarking report if the owner submits documentation to the CEO demonstrating that, despite the owner's good-faith effort, the owner was unable to complete the benchmarking report for the calendar year to be benchmarked in a timely manner because of the failure or refusal of a qualifying utility or a utility customer to provide the necessary information or permission, as applicable.

II.B.2. Covered building owners that request a benchmarking report time extension must submit the extension application to the CEO by May 15 of the reporting year (e.g., by May 15, 2024, for calendar year 2023 data) on a CEO-approved form.

II.C. Exemptions

II.C.1. The owner of a building with a gross floor area of 50,000 square feet or more that is occupied by a single occupant or group of tenants may, in the interest of regulatory certainty, request from the CEO an affirmative exemption from the annual requirement to report benchmarking data in Part B, Section I. if their building does not meet the definition of a covered building in Part A, Section III.O.

II.C.1.a. Any exemption request must be submitted on a CEO approved form and include all required information to be considered.

II.C.1.b. Building owners may apply for an exemption that will be in place until June 1, 2026. After June 1, 2026, building owners that have been approved for an exemption must reapply.

II.C.1.c. After June 1, 2026, building owners applying for an exemption for the calendar year to be benchmarked must submit an exemption application to the CEO any time after June 1 of the calendar year to be benchmarked and on or before May 1 of the reporting year (e.g., for calendar year 2027 data, the exemption request must be submitted between June 1, 2027, and May 1, 2028). The CEO may approve an alternate timeline for submitting an exemption request on a case by case basis.

II.C.2. Owners of single-family homes, duplexes, or triplexes are not required to file an annual exemption request but must report their benchmarking data annually if the property type changes such that the building meets the definition of and applicability for a covered building.

II.D. If a covered building owner's waiver or exemption request is denied by the CEO, the building owner may request the CEO executive director (or their designee) to review the determination. The building owner must request the review within sixty (60) days of the initial denial and before the June 1 reporting deadline for the calendar year in which the waiver was applied for. The executive director (or their designee) will make a recommendation on the waiver or exemption request within ninety (90) days of the review request.

5 CCR 1001-32-B

46 CR 18, September 25, 2023, effective 10/15/2023