Ohio has one city with a mandatory benchmarking ordinance that affects city-owned and privately-owned buildings. Click here to see how Ohio handles energy efficiency in state and publicly-owned buildings.
Columbus, OH
On March 16, 2020, Columbus, Ohio passed a mandatory benchmarking ordinance.
Title: Energy and Water Benchmarking and Transparency Ordinance
Date Passed: March 19, 2020
Policy Language: Ord. No. 0452-2020, 3-16-2020
Assistance: City of Columbus Energy Benchmarking; benchmarking@columbus.gov;
Summary:
Columbus' Energy and Water Benchmarking and Transparency Ordinance requires city-owned properties 25,000 square feet and larger and non-city properties 100,000 square feet and larger to track their annual energy consumption by June 1, 2021; properties larger than 50,000 square feet will be require to comply by June 2022. To comply with the ordinance, property owners are responsible for reporting their building energy data into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Columbus utilities have collaborated with local utilities (AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas) on a free Automated Benchmarking tool, which will sync customers’ previous (three years) as well as ongoing energy data to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The automated process will also provide options to manually capture energy or water usage from outside of the local utilities’ district, allowing all information to be analyzed in one place and creating an easy and seamless transition for building owners.
| Compliance Deadline | Type of Building | Building Size Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2021 | City-owned properties | 25,000 square feet and larger |
| June 1, 2021 | Public, Multifamily, and Commercial | 100,000 square feet and larger |
| June 1, 2022 | Public, Multifamily, and Commercial | 50,000 square feet and larger |