The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is participating in a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve building energy efficiency in commercial facilities. The new pilot program, Building Performance with ENERGY STAR, helps states and utility companies in their efforts to promote comprehensive, whole-building energy upgrades for businesses. The other partners in the national pilot include ComEd, MidAmerican Energy, National Grid, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Wisconsin Focus on Energy.

Building Performance with ENERGY STAR is a collection of tools and resources that produce greater long-term energy savings in facilities where whole building upgrades are planned. The program is coupled with Pay for Performance, a component of New Jersey's Clean Energy Program that provides incentives for energy improvements in large facilities. Participants will establish an ongoing energy management strategy for their portfolio of buildings and learn how to save energy year after year.

Building performance is assessed using EPA’s Portfolio Manager, an energy measurement and tracking tool that helps uncover cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities. The BPU's role in the pilot program is to target and recruit eligible, vertically-integrated market sectors of businesses based in New Jersey and drive continuous improvement in energy performance across the state. Primary target sectors include retail companies, hospitals and other healthcare organizations that:

• Are headquartered or have a major presence in New Jersey
• Have multiple facilities or a minimum of ten locations
• Are high energy users that best fit the parameters of the initiative

Pay for Performance participants who qualify for the Building Performance with ENERGY STAR pilot will sign a participation agreement and begin with a benchmarking report using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for each facility. Participants will have access to technical energy analysis tools, educational webinars and guidance on available financial incentives. In addition to gaining competitive advantage through energy reduction and building performance improvement, businesses participating in the pilot have the opportunity to gain recognition as industry leaders through the adoption and implementation of whole-building energy efficiency management strategies.

To request free benchmarking services, complete the online form that matches your building type. For detailed information about participating in the Building Performance with ENERGY STAR Pilot, contact us at 866-NJSMART or send an e-mail to Benchmarking@NJCleanEnergy.com.