SEC. 91.9705. BENCHMARKING AND SELF-REPORTING OF ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION INFORMATION.

(Added by Ord. No. 184,674, Eff. 1/29/17.)

91.9705.1. Annual Energy and Water Benchmarking and Reporting. For every building subject to this division, the building owner shall annually submit to the Department an energy and water benchmarking report according to the schedule set forth in Section 91.9708. The energy and water benchmarking report shall be based on an assessment in the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager of the total energy and water consumed by the whole building for the entire calendar year being reported. The energy and water benchmarking report shall, at minimum, include the following:

1. Descriptive Information. Basic descriptive information to track and report a building's compliance with this division, including but not limited to the building address, facility gross square footage, property type, and the individual or entity responsible for the benchmarking report.

2. Energy and Water Benchmarking Information. Information necessary to benchmark energy and water usage, including, at a minimum, the following data:

(a) The ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager ENERGY STAR score for the building, where available;

(b) The weather-normalized site and source energy use intensity (EUI) per unit area per year (kBTU per square foot per year) for the building;

(c) The site and source energy use intensity (EUI) per unit area per year (kBTU per square foot per year) for the building;

(d) The annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions due to energy use for the building as estimated by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager;

(e) Indoor water use, indoor water intensity, outdoor water use (when available), total water use, and irrigated area (if any); and (Amended by Ord. No. 186,789, Eff. 11/12/20.)

(f) Number of years the building has been ENERGY STAR® Certified and the last approval date, if applicable.

Nothing in this division shall be construed to permit a building owner to use tenant utility usage data for purposes other than compliance with benchmarking report requirements. Nor shall the reporting requirements of this division be construed to excuse building owners from compliance with federal or state laws governing direct access to tenant utility data from the responsible utility.

91.9705.2. Quality Check of Benchmarking Report Submission. The building owner or the owner's authorized representative shall run all automated data quality checker functions available within ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, and shall correct all missing or incorrect information as identified by ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager prior to submitting the benchmarking report to the Department.

91.9705.3. Exemptions from Benchmarking Report Submission. The owner of a building subject to this division shall not be required to file a benchmarking report for a reporting year if any of the following conditions apply:

1. The building did not have a Certificate of Occupancy or Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the entire calendar year required to be benchmarked;

2. The entire building was not occupied, due to renovation, for the entire calendar year required to be benchmarked;

3. The demolition permit for the entire building has been issued and demolition work has commenced on or before the date the benchmarking report is due for that calendar year;

4. The building did not receive energy or water services for the entire calendar year required to be benchmarked.

For each reporting cycle, the Department shall determine whether an exemption under this subsection applies to a building. Appeal of a determination that a building is not exempt shall be made according to the procedures set forth in Subsection 98.0403.2 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code.

91.9705.4. Publication of Limited Summary Data. The Department shall make the following information available to the public on the internet, as reported by building owners, and update the information at least annually:

1. Summary statistics on overall compliance with this division;

2. Summary statistics on overall energy and water consumption of buildings subject to this division derived from aggregation of annual benchmarking reports; and

3. For each building subject to this division:

(a) Building address and property use type;

(b) Annual summary statistics for the whole building derived from the submitted benchmarking report, including all information required under Subsection 91.9705.1, except for Subdivision 2.(f); and

(c) The status of compliance with the requirements of this division.