What is California Assembly Bill 802 (AB 802)?

 

California Code of Regulations
Title 20. Public Utilities and Energy
Division 2. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
Chapter 4. Energy Conservation
Article 9. Building Energy Use Data Access, Benchmarking, and Public Disclosure

 

 

Download: California Assembly Bill 802 (AB 802) Benchmark and Disclosure Requirements (pdf)

(See Page 6-7 for Benchmark Deadlines)

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AB 802 is a statewide requirement for California building owners to benchmark their building’s energy usage and report it to the State of California, known as an “Energy Benchmark”. The State will then publish this data online so that owners can see how each building compares to its peers.

 

AB 802’s goal is to help building owners save energy and motivate them to participate in whole-building energy efficiency programs, such as the Corporate Efficiency Program, Five Star Efficiency and Energy Upgrade California.

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What is an Energy Benchmark?

Energy benchmarking is used to assess the energy efficiency of a building on a scale of 1–100, relative to similar buildings nationwide.

 

This rating is similar to the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) rating of a car in that it tells you how energy efficient a particular building is. A rating of 50 indicates that the building, from an energy consumption standpoint, performs better than 50% of all similar buildings nationwide, while a rating of 75 indicates that the building performs better than 75% of all similar buildings nationwide. Conversely, seeing that a building uses more energy than 80 or 90% of similar buildings can be a convincing indicator for building improvements.

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The benefit of energy benchmarking is:

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• Knowing how much money your buildings are wasting in utility costs

• Knowing how much room for improvement they have & how they stack up to each other

• Identifying under-performing buildings to help prevent critical equipment failures

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Do I have to Comply?

If you own or manage a building that is 50,000 square feet or more, you must conduct an Energy Benchmark annually to comply with AB 802.  Exceptions include new buildings that have received a Certificate of Occupancy within 12 months of the due date, and also multi-family buildings with less than 17 combined utility accounts (including tenant and owner accounts).

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What Are the Deadlines?

Every year on June 1st.  It is mandated to submit an ENERGY STAR® Benchmark report for the prior calendar year's energy consumption. 

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What Are the Violations for Not Complying?

 

$500-$2,000 Penalties per Day

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The Energy Commission may enforce any of the following violations through the measures identified in Public Resources Code section 25321:

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(1) The civil penalty shall not be less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each category of data the person did not provide and for each day the violation has existed and continues to exist.

 

(2) In the case of a person who willfully makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any record, report, plan, or other document filed with the commission, the civil penalty shall not be less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) per day applied to each day in the interval between the original due date and the date when corrected information is submitted.

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How Do I Comply?

AB 802 requires annual energy consumption reports from each building.  Building owners must authorize their utility provider to record and upload their building’s energy data to EPA’s Portfolio Manager, a reporting tool that allows building owners to compare their building’s energy efficiency with similar buildings.

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Where Can I Get Help?

Vert Energy Group built www.AB802Benchmark.com to be a powerful online tool that simplifies the compliance process for building owners and managers.  It eliminates the need to coordinate between various utility companies to obtain whole-building energy consumption data, inputting that data into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, and then submitting the proper documentation to the AB 802 reporting agency. 

 

You can also use this platform to comply with other local benchmarks laws, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City (FREE for other benchmark laws in California).

 

AB802Benchmark.com is a hands-free, single platform that automates compliance across multiple benchmark laws, utilities, and properties throughout your portfolio. 

 

For questions, call us at (800) 585-2690 or email Compliance.Help@AB802Benchmark.com