Orlando (FL)

Was unanimously ratified by the Orlando City Council in 2016, representing a pivotal initiative outlined in the Green Works Orlando Community Action Plan. BEWES primarily focuses on monitoring the energy and water consumption of the city’s largest structures.

Compliance Requirements

Since August 1, 2018, all city-owned edifices exceeding 10,000 gross square feet and every commercial or multifamily building surpassing 50,000 gross square feet are mandated to track and annually report their comprehensive energy usage. This data is then submitted to the city administration for inclusion in an annual report and transparency map accessible to the real estate market.

Reporting Procedure

Owners of commercial and multifamily buildings with a footprint of 50,000 square feet or greater are obliged to furnish basic building details alongside comprehensive energy utilization data through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a web-based tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Penalty Enforcement

Failure to comply with the stipulated deadline prompts notification from the city administration, resulting in identification as non-compliant in the annual report and Orlando’s public benchmarking map.

Exemption Criteria

Benchmarking obligations are waived under the following circumstances:

• Building size falls below the 50,000 square feet threshold.
• The property qualifies for exemptions designated for covered city-owned properties.
• The director determines that strict compliance poses undue hardship due to unique facility circumstances not caused by the applicant’s actions.
• The property demonstrates financial hardship.
• The property is categorized as “industry,” “manufacturing-intensive services,” or is affiliated with a theme park. (Exemptions exclude warehouses engaged in light manufacturing, storage, and/or distribution activities.)
• Telecommunications infrastructure usage predominates in the property.
• The property features more than three meters, lacks access to whole-building data aggregation services provided by the electric utility, or lacks access to master meters or alternative means.

• Financial hardship pertains to properties experiencing: Arrears of property taxes, water, or wastewater charges leading to inclusion on the Orange County Property Appraiser’s annual tax lien sale list within two years preceding the summary audit/retro-commissioning report’s due date.
• Court-appointed receivership due to financial distress.
• Ownership by a financial institution following borrower default.
• Acquisition via deed in lieu of foreclosure.
• Senior mortgage subject to a notice of default.
• Ownership Structure Considerations
• Properties with multiple owners, including condominiums, are required to collectively benchmark, verify, and report data for the entire building. Only one annual report is necessary per property, fostering collaboration among owners, managers, and agents to ensure compliance.

In cases where multiple buildings share one or more energy-consuming systems, such as boilers or electricity meters, they may collectively benchmark, verify, and report as a single entity, encompassing the combined floor area of all affected structures.