Local Law 84 and Local Law 133

Local Law 84 was passed in 2009 and amended by Local Law 133 in 2016, and they require owners of covered buildings to submit energy and water consumption data to the City annually by May 1st of every year.

Building owners who do not submit benchmarking information by May 1st, 2021 will receive a reminder to submit by August 1, 2021 in the form of a Notice of Non-Submission and a fine of $500.

WHO IS AFFECTED BY LOCAL LAW 84 AND LOCAL LAW 133?

The original local law 84 required buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to measure, track and report their energy, gas, water, and fuel consumption.

When Local Law 133 was passed in 2016, it amended the original law so as to include mid-size buildings as well; now owners of buildings 25,000 square feet or more are also required to complete yearly benchmarking.

HOW DO I GET COMPLIANT WITH LOCAL LAW 84 AND LOCAL LAW 133?

All buildings required to benchmark must submit their previous calendar year's energy and water usage data to the EPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager; when you submit by May 1st, 2021, you will be reporting on your energy and water consumption for all of 2020.

To comply, you'll have to follow these steps:

1. Check the Covered Buildings List for your property every year.
2. Set up an account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® if you do not have one.
3. Enter or review building characteristics and uses.
4. Collect whole building energy data (and water data, if required) from utilities.
5. Confirm and enter BBL and BIN information.
6. Check your data for errors and completeness.
7. Submit usage data to the City by May 1 through Portfolio Manager® via Reporting Tool.

EBI Consulting's team of Engineers, Certified Energy Managers, and Energy Experts can handle your Local Law 84/133 compliance often within 10-20 business days of receiving all energy (electricity, natural gas, steam, oil, propane, etc.) utility bills.

You can do this by providing copies of all utility bills from January - December 2020, or providing account numbers for all utility services.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I CHOOSE NOT TO COMPLY?

Non-compliance is an easy way to stack up headaches, written violations, and quarterly fines.

Failure to submit your benchmarking information by May 1st will result in a fine of $500 every quarter, until you submit it. 

In other words, if you completely ignore your compliance responsibility, you'll owe a total of $2,000 in fines by February of the following year, and still be required to submit your energy benchmarking report three months later, by May 1st.

HOW HAS EBI'S ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY TEAM HELPED NYC BUILDING OWNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS STAY COMPLIANT AND AVOID FINES?

EBI has conducted hundreds of energy audits in New York City and is one of the top Energy Benchmarking Service providers for the city's property investors and lenders.

We do this in 3 steps:

Research

• Establish a Energy Star property profile and energy model to benchmark energy and water consumption.

• Input the building parameters, unit types, and use.

• Input 12 months (minimum) of supplied utility data for the property for each utility meter.

• File the required documentation with the NYC DOB for compliance.

Site Visit

A site visit may be conducted, if necessary, to examine each utility meter, building parameters, and all major energy and water consuming building systems.

Final Deliverable

Once we complete the research and possible site visit stages, EBI provides you with a final report that includes all filing receipts and notices, including a statement of energy performance from the EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager. 

Hassle-free, so you can focus on what you do best.

Local Law 87

Local Law 87 passed in 2009 and requires owners of applicable mixed-use and residential buildings to submit an Energy Efficiency Report (EER) once every ten years. 

Your EER is comprised of an energy audit and necessary retro-commissioning measures.

An energy audit is an comprehensive analysis of a building’s energy equipment, systems, and consumption data. This is done to identify energy-saving opportunities, help increase property values, lower maintenance costs, and promote a more environmentally-friendly New York City for everyone.

Retro-Commissioning is a process used to identify problems with a building’s HVAC systems and to produce engineering solutions addressing these problems. The RCx process typically provides financial benefits in addition to system reliability benefits.

The economic payback of retro-commissioning (or “tuning-up”) existing HVAC, electrical and lighting control systems is usually more attractive than other capital improvement projects as it often provides a shorter payback than replacing equipment or making system modifications.

WHO IS AFFECTED BY LOCAL LAW 87?

All commercial and residential buildings over 50,000 square feet, or buildings in a tax lot over 100,000 square feet total are mandated to comply with LL87.

Unlike LL 84 and 133, which requires benchmarking every year, LL87 requires you to submit an EER every ten years. Your compliance year corresponds to the last digit of your building's block number.

So if your building block's number ends in 1, you must submit your EER in 2021.

HOW DO I GET COMPLIANT WITH LOCAL LAW 87?

Engage a team of certified Engineers, Certified Energy Managers, and Energy Experts who are qualified and experienced in conduction energy audits and carrying out any necessary retro-commissioning work.

A turn-key solution like EBI Consulting is your best way to complete and submit your EER without delay or the hassle of bringing together several companies to perform each portion of the work.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I CHOOSE NOT TO COMPLY?

Local Law 87 is the most punishing of NYC's energy benchmarking laws.

For the first year of non-compliance, you'll be fined $3,000.

For every year that you fail to submit your EER thereafter, you'll be fined $6,000.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, failure to comply is a Class 2 violation that can stop you from getting construction permits and can hinder future refinancing efforts.

In other words, non-compliance. 

HOW HAS EBI'S ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY TEAM HELPED NYC BUILDING OWNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS STAY COMPLIANT AND AVOID FINES?

EBI has conducted hundreds of energy audits and retro-commissioning projects in New York City and is one of the top Energy Benchmarking Service providers for the city's property investors and lenders.

As part of the requirements of LL87, EBI will review the following items, at a minimum, to assess the property:

• Heating and Cooling Controls
• Exterior Lighting Systems
• Plumbing Fixtures
• Piping Systems
• Roofing Systems
• Laundry Facilities, as applicable
• Domestic Hot Water Generation Systems

Hassle-free, so you can focus on what you do best.

Local Law 95

NYC owners of buildings over 25,000sq ft (or multiple buildings on a lot spanning 100,000 sq ft or more), must print and post their building's Energy Efficiency Rating label in a visible spot near the entrance.

Every building required to comply but found without an official Energy Efficiency Rating label posted near the entrance is subject to fines.

WHY DO BUILDING OWNERS NEED TO ACT ON LOCAL LAW 95?

Well, for one, it's a law that carries a fine of $1,250 per instance of non-compliance.

And the mandatory compliance period began on November 1st.

So if your building doesn't have its label posted today... you are already subject to a violation notice and penalty.

Download the 8-step guide to getting your Energy Efficiency Rating label today and avoid a violation and fine.

Thinking about improving your grade and your building’s energy efficiency?

We’re a team of Energy Benchmarking experts helping owners and investors across the city to go beyond basic benchmarking and extract more revenue out of their buildings from implementing real energy efficiency.

See our list of services for Building Owners who need Energy Cost Savings.

Local Law 97

The NYC Climate Mobilization Act, or Local Law 97, was passed by the New York City Council on May 18, 2019, and it's the most aggressive climate legislation to date, designed to help the city achieve a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, and 80% reduction by 2050 (when compared to 2005 figures).

The law imposes new carbon emissions limits based on building size and occupancy group, prompting 50,000 buildings in New York City - 60% of all city buildings - to assess their energy use today, or face heavy fines and impacted property values.

WHAT PROPERTIES ARE AFFECTED BY LOCAL LAW 97?

All commercial buildings of at least 25,000 SF are mandated to comply with Local Law 97.

Noncompliance fines will vary by building size and occupancy group:

A - Assembly (Restaurants, etc)

B – Business (Offices, all others)

I-4 – Day Care (Day Nurseries and Adult Custodial Care)

I-1 – Institutional (Assisted Living and Personal Care)

F – Factory and Industrial

B - Business (Civic Administrative Facilities for Emergency Response Services)

M – Mercantile

R-1 – Residential (Transient)

R-2 – Residential (Non-transient)

S - Storage (Low to Moderate Hazard)

B - Business (Ambulatory Healthcare)

U - Utility & Miscellaneous

I-3 - Institutional (Correction Centers)

H - High Hazard

I-2 - Institutional (Healthcare)

E - Education

By 2030, the average NYC commercial building will need to reduce emissions in order to meet the city's strict emissions limits and avoid the law's heaviest fines.

HOW DO I GET COMPLIANT?

All building owners should start developing long-term energy and carbon emission reduction strategies today to meet or exceed the emissions performance targets. This process takes time and to be successful, requires input from numerous stakeholders including internal and external experts, tenants, building operations, ownership and management.

Every building's benchmarking compliance report will be due on May 1 of every year, starting in 2025, and must be certified by a registered design professional.

The law imposes new carbon emissions limits based on building size and occupancy group, prompting 50,000 buildings in New York City - 60% of all city buildings - to assess their energy use today, or face heavy fines and impacted property values.

The first step to assuring compliance and avoiding heavy fines is to order your free emissions analysis.

One of our registered design professionals, in partnership with our Energy & Sustainability team, will help you identify:

• Your current emissions and how they measure up to the new city limits;
• The most cost effective ways to meet your building's mandated targets;
• The time frame and budget you need to allocate to complete the project in time.
  
  

WHAT HAPPENS IF I CHOOSE NOT TO COMPLY?

The City of New York expects all building owners to act quickly, and begin taking steps today that will put them in compliance tomorrow.

To enforce this, LL97 has established two distinct compliance periods:

Compliance in 2024 to 2029: GHG emissions reduced by 40%

The first deadline for New York is 2024.

All buildings must already meet the new carbon emission limits for their size and use by then, or be fined $268 per metric ton of carbon emitted above the mandated limit, each and every year they remain non-compliant until 2029.

Compliance in 2030 to 2034: GHG emissions reduced by 80%

In 2030, new, more severe emissions limits kick into gear, quickly turning fines steeper.

And here's the real kicker: failure to report carbon emissions incurs a fine of $0.50 per building square foot per month, and a false reporting can lead to misdemeanor charges and a $500,000 fine.

Don't Risk Heavy Fines.
Speak with a Local Law 97 Compliance Advisor Today.