On July 22, 2015, the NASEO Board of Directors voted to support the burgeoning policies of whole-building energy data access, benchmarking, and transparency.
The resolution, recommended by the NASEO Buildings Committee, was passed unanimously by the Board of Directors at their summer meeting.
The action by the Board of Directors supports smart policies that have already been adopted in several states across the country. States with building energy benchmarking and transparency policies include Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Utah, and Washington.
The resolution will assist other states, including NASEO members, in their pursuit of sound public policy. Andrew McAllister, of the California Energy Commission and NASEO Board member, said, “energy benchmarking is a powerful tool for comparative assessment of existing buildings. It helps owners and operators manage their buildings effectively, in the process mobilizing cost-effective investments in energy efficiency. Indeed, as a policy matter California supports pervasive use of Energy Star Portfolio Manager. I applaud NASEO and my fellow Board members for encouraging our states' utility partners to provide the data necessary for effective benchmarking programs."
In a sector that accounts for over 40 percent of the country’s energy usage, whole-building energy benchmarking is an important tool that building owners and managers can use to identify performance issues, improve energy management, perform cost-effective updates, even set and reach energy performance goals.
Whole-building energy data and benchmarking policies improve demand reductions that can result in direct cost savings to customers and peak load reductions that benefit all taxpayers and ratepayers.
NASEO’s resolution supports similar efforts by the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA). NASEO looks forward to continuing its work in this area, including supporting the work of the Data Access and Transparency Alliance (DATA).