Every year, if your building is covered, you will receive a notification from the Board.  For the first reporting year (2022), you will receive notification if your building is considered a Covered Building by July 1, 2023.  Benchmarking submissions for the first reporting year are due on October 1, 2023.  You may choose to make the benchmarking submission yourself or hire an NJ Certified Benchmarker to assist you.
2.    Apply for an Exemption - You may appeal or request an exemption from benchmarking.  A list of exemptions and application form (forthcoming) will be provided.
3.    Create Portfolio Manager Account - If you do not already have an account, register with ENERGY STAR here.
4.    Data Access Request - If you are not seeking an exemption, request aggregated building-level data through a Data Access Request Form (forthcoming) from your utilities.
5.    Data Aggregation Rule - Your utility will apply the 4/50 Rule and notify you whether the 4/50 Rule is satisfied.  This rule is staisfied when there are four or more tenants in a building and no one tenant consumes more than 50% of the energy or water in a building.
    
    A) If the 4/50 Rule is satisfied, the utility will aggregate the data and send it directly to Portfolio Manager or e-mail it to you in a standardized spreadsheet for you to upload to Portfolio Manager.
    
    B) If the building fails to satisfy the 4/50 Rule, the utility will notify you.  Then, you must  request consent from each of your tenants through a Consent Letter (forthcoming) available on the utilities website.  Each tenant is to complete the Consent Letter, either granting or denying permission for the utility to release their data to be a part of the aggregated data that the utility will provide to you.  If you are unable to reach a tenant, you may indicate so on the Consent Letter.  All completed Consent Letters must be returned to the utility.  The utility will then send the aggregated data for the consenting tenants to Portfolio Manager or will e-mail it to you in a standardized spreadsheet for you to upload to Portfolio Manager.