WHAT’S REQUIRED?

Benchmarking

Building owners who are not already tracking whole-building data in Energy Star will undertake a multi-step process to comply:

  1. Set up an account in Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
  2. Enter whole building energy (gas & electric) and water data for the previous calendar year.
  3. Submit your report to the St. Louis Building Division.
  4. Need assistance? Contact the Building Division at 314-622-5689 or benchmarking@stlouis-mo.gov.

Timeline

The program is phased in by building ownership:

  • All municipal buildings of at least 50,000 square feet must comply no later than December 31, 2017 and each May 1st thereafter.
  • Owners of non-municipal buildings (institutional, commercial, and multifamily residential) of at least 50,000 square feet must comply no later than May 1st annually.

REPORTING CHECKLIST

  1. Collect all data needed for benchmarking.
  2. Create an Energy Star Portfolio Manager account or log in to your existing account at www.energystar.gov/benchmark.
  3. Benchmark your property.
    Following the steps outlined in the ENERGY STAR Quick Start Guide or in the quick demonstration videos available at www.energystar.gov/buildings/training/training.
    • Set up your property in Portfolio Manager
    • Set up energy and water meters
    • Add energy and water data

    Do any of the following apply to your building? Refer to the additional guidance below

  4. Check for Errors
    Use Portfolio Manager's Data Quality Checker to find potential issues. Click on the link that reads "Check for Possible Errors" on your property's Summary Tab.
  5. Add your St. Louis Building ID to your property. This ID is required to track compliance.
    • Locate your St. Louis Building ID by clicking "Building ID and Address Lookup" on the homepage of www.stlbenchmarking.com. Alert us if you have issues locating your Building ID by emailing benchmarking@stlouis-mo.gov or calling 314-622-5689
    • To add your St. Louis Building ID to your property, click on your property's Details tab. Look for the Unique Identifiers section in the bottom left. Click Edit. Locate the Standard IDs section, choose St. Louis Building ID from the drop down menu, and enter your ID number. Click Save.
  6. Generate and submit your energy and water report using the St. Louis Benchmarking Data Request.
    • Access Data Request
      Click on Report Data on the homepage of www.stlbenchmarking.com
    • Create a Response You will be directed to the St. Louis's Benchmarking Report Data Request. Select the property or properties you'll be reporting and whether you are submitting data on your own behalf or on behalf of someone else. Click Generate Response Preview.
    • Preview Response
      You will be redirected to Portfolio Manager's Reporting page. You may then preview your response by selecting Preview Response (to view in your browser window) or Download Preview in Excel.
    • Resolve any Data Quality Alerts
      If Portfolio Manager determines your energy or water metrics cannot be calculated for one or more properties in the request, a pink alert box will appear after you generate the response preview. Click the "Read More" link in the box to go to the alert page, which will list all the properties affected. Links within the alerts will take you to the specific screen where the data issue can be fixed. After updating your properties to fix errors or omissions, click "Generate an Updated Response" to refresh the report. If any alerts remain, the pink alert box will appear on the Reporting tab after the revised report is generated.
    • Submit Response
      After you have reviewed and confirmed the data in the report, select Send Response from the dropdown menu next to the report's name on the Reporting page. E-sign the following page and click Send Data to complete the response. You will receive a confirmation email and a copy of the data submitted.

Download a PDF of our reporting checklist with added screenshots for reference.

DOWNLOAD PDF

GATHERING & REQUESTING UTILITY DATA

  • Refer to the ENERGY STAR Data Collection Worksheet for a full list of required data for your property
  • Access your St. Louis Building ID on the homepage of www.stlbenchmarking.com. Alert us if you have issues locating your Building ID by emailing benchmarking@stlouis-mo.gov or calling 314-622-5689
  • Access historical energy use data using your past bills, or by setting up accounts on your utility websites (see presentation for more specific instructions):
    • www.amerenmissouri.com
    • www.spireenergy.com
    • www.stlwater.com
      • Click on Online Account Access to log in. Once logged in, click on the Consumption Tab to access your previous bills.
      • Note that water billing is quarterly, and that water is billed in CCF (centum cubic feet). The read date listed on each bill should be entered as the billing period end date in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
      • If you have questions, please contact the Water Division’s Customer Service Section at 314-771-2255 between 8:00-5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
        • St. Louis City Water allows customers to look up their quarterly water utilization on their website without an account. Follow the steps below, or download this PDF.
        • Open your web browser and in the address bar, enter http://www.stlwater.com/usage_search.php
        • Search for your billing address by entering the address number in the Number field and the street name in the Street Name field and clicking the Search button
        • In Found Billing Addresses, click the link next to your billing address to be taken to the Utilization page.The Utilization page shows the total water consumption charged to this address on each bill for the past 3 years. The Bill Date column shows the date of each water bill, the Total Charged Consumption column shows the total usage on that bill measured in Hundred Cubic Feet (CCF), and the For Period Ending column notes the end of the billed period.
      • If you have questions, please contact the Water Division’s Customer Service Section at 314-771-2255 between 8:00-5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
      • Click here to download a PDF of how to look up your quarterly water utilization under your account

Multi-tenant Buildings Only: You may request aggregated whole-building data from Ameren Missouri & Spire. Click our Utility Release Form below to submit requests to Ameren Missouri and/or Spire to the contact methods at each utility listed down below:

Requesting Steam Usage – Ashley Energy (formerly Trigen)
Buildings that use steam can request their usage from Ashley Energy using the form below. (Instructions are on the form.)

Click here to download a PDF of the “Request for Steam Consumption History” form

If you need data from before you bought the building, you'll also need a signed release from the last owner.

Click here to download a PDF of the “Previous Owner Release” form

COMPLIANCE PATHWAYS

There are four main compliance paths for BEPS.

  1. BEPS Compliance Pathways

VIOLATIONS & ENFORCEMENT

Any person who fails to comply with any benchmarking information submittal requirement mandated by this article or misrepresents any material fact in a document or report prepared as required by this article shall result in the following:

  1. A written warning shall be issued by the Commissioner to an owner who fails to submit any required benchmarking information. Such warning letter shall be effective on the date of issuance and shall be mailed to the owner’s last known address as determined by county record.
  2. In the event required benchmarking information is not reported within sixty (60) days of the date the written warning is issued, said failure shall constitute an offense and shall be punishable, upon conviction, by a fine of not less than $50.00 and not more than $200.00. For any continuing violation of this article, each day of the violation shall be considered a separate offense. In no event shall the cumulative fine imposed hereunder exceed $1000.00 annually.

To view this section in the ordinance, please visit here: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/ordinances/ordinance.cfm?ord=70474

EXEMPTIONS/EXTENSIONS FORM

Think your building qualifies for an exemption or you need to file for an extension? Complete the Exemptions/Extensions form online.

Exemptions & Extensions Form

Any owner requesting such an extension or exemption shall provide the Commissioner any and all documentation request to substantiate the request or otherwise assist the Commissioner in the extension or exemption determination. Any extension or exemption granted shall be limited to the benchmarking submission for which the request was made and shall not extend to past or future submittals.