Benchmarking Requirements

Benchmarking Your Building

Benchmarking turns the information on your utility bill into knowledge you can act on. The first step to saving energy at your building is to benchmark. This means you are going to measure and compare your building’s energy to similar buildings, the building’s past consumption, or a reference performance level.

Log into the Energize Denver Management Portal

Summary of requirements

What needs to be done?

Submitting your Annual Benchmarking Report is a key part of complying with the Energize Denver program. This report shows the previous year's energy use. You must submit your benchmarking report through the Energize Denver Management Portal.
The city will review your benchmarking report to determine if you are in compliance. No additional documentation is needed to demonstrate compliance.
IMPORTANT: In 2025, we want you to check your benchmarking report using our Benchmarking Checklist(PDF, 411KB). This will ensure your benchmarking report is detailed enough to assign you the correct energy efficiency target.

Who needs to do it?

All buildings within the City and County of Denver that are 25,000 square feet and larger must submit their benchmarking information annually.

When it must be done?

A building’s 2024 energy data must be submitted by September 1, 2025.
In future years, your benchmarking report will be due on June 1.

Your Annual Benchmarking Report helps you:

Track your building’s energy use.
See if you're on pace to meet your energy efficiency target.
Take action if your current Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is above your energy efficiency target(s).

Important: Many buildings are not benchmarked with enough detail to receive the correct energy efficiency target, so we’ve developed a new checklist(PDF, 411KB) to help you with this process. To help you get the right target, third-party data verification of your benchmarking report is required once in the next two years (by June 1, 2026).

Submit Your Annual Benchmarking Report

Benchmarking Tools & Resources

Need to troubleshoot?

Call the Energize Denver Help Desk: 844-536-4528 (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
Email the Energize Denver Help Desk: energizedenver@denvergov.org
In-person sessions available

See more about how the Energize Denver Help Desk can help you

Want more information about Benchmarking?

Check out the high-level data from your previous benchmarking reports in the new Energize Denver Management Portal.
See Section 4 of the Energize Denver Technical Guidance

Need someone to help you complete your benchmarking report?

Find professionals who have completed our Benchmarking Training to support you.

Trained Service Providers List

Important Benchmarking Notes

Benchmarking Exemptions

Your building may qualify for an exemption from this year's benchmarking requirement if it:
- Was not occupied
- Was being renovated
- Is in qualifying financial distress
Apply for a Benchmarking Exemption

State vs. City Reporting

State law (HB21-1286) requires separate reporting for buildings 50,000 sq. ft. and larger.
We will provide more information to buildings that have to comply with both requirements at a later date.

Privacy and Data Use

The Energize Denver Ordinance requires that we make certain building benchmarking data public. You can see that data on the Energize Denver Map.
Only public building and energy data is published—no personal info. See a full list of the fields that we publish.
Want to Keep Your Data Private? Submit a Confidential Data Request with a written justification.

Compliance and Enforcement

Reports with data quality issues will not be accepted until the errors are resolved.
A $2,000 fine applies if the benchmarking report is not approved by September 1, 2025.
Failure to resolve or pay a citation within 180 days may result in a property lien.

How to Submit Your Annual Benchmarking Report

Detailed benchmarking will set an accurate energy efficiency score that your building will need to meet by the final target deadline.

There are three key parts to submitting a detailed Annual Benchmarking Report:

Prepare Your Annual Benchmarking Report
Obtain Data Verification
Submit Your Annual Benchmarking Report

Before you get started:

Watch this Benchmarking 101 Video
Set up a call with our Help Desk
- Phone: 844-536-4528 (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
- Email: energizedenver@denvergov.org
- In-person sessions available
Review the Step-by-Step Guide on the next page

Step-by-Step Guide

This guide will show you all of the steps for gathering information, verifying it, and then reporting it to the city. If you need a more detailed guide with screenshots and detailed steps, you can download our Energize Denver Benchmarking Guide(PDF, 601KB).

PART 1: Prepare Your Benchmarking Report

Log in or Set Up your Energy Star Portfolio Manager (“EPSM”) Account
- VIDEO: How to Create an Account in ESPM
- VIDEO: How to Add a Property in ESPM
Add or Verify your Property Details and Building ID in ESPM
- Find your Denver Building ID using the Lookup Tool.
  - VIDEO: How to Find and Attach Your Unique Building ID Number
- Use this checklist(PDF, 411KB) to review your building's details in ESPM
  - Check Your Gross Floor Area (GFA):
    - Confirm accuracy of square footage using the definition in Section 3.1 of the Technical Guidance.
    - Remove the parking area from the GFA and list it separately as a use type, if applicable.
  - Review Building Type and Use Details:
    - Choose either one main ESPM property type or break out all use types (especially high-intensity areas like restaurants or data centers).
      - VIDEO: How to Add/Change/Delete Your Building Use Type
      - Include details for:
        
        Heated Pools (size, location, season)
        
        Parking (configuration, heating)
        
        Data Centers (Class A or B)
        
        Manufacturing, Agricultural, or Industrial (MAI) buildings
Create Meters and Add Energy Data in ESPM
- Use Xcel Energy to Auto-Upload Your Energy Use Data:
  - Set up ‘whole building electricity’ and ‘whole building natural gas’ meters in ESPM.
  - Follow Xcel Energy’s Benchmarking Services Guide for auto-upload.
  - VIDEO: How to Create Energy Meters and Set Up Xcel Energy Auto Upload
- Manually Enter The Following Information if Applicable:
  - Natural gas from transport providers (check units: often MMbtu).
  - Steam from Xcel’s steam loop (units: kLbs).
  - Chilled water from Denver District Cooling Loop (units: ton-hours)
  - VIDEO: How to Create Energy Meters and Manually Add Data
- Ensure full calendar year data is entered under the Energy tab.
- Run the Data Quality Checker in the Summary tab.
- VIDEO: How to Run the Data Quality Checker
Connect and Share the Property in ESPM
- Connect with Energize Denver
  - Go to the “Contacts” page and click “Add New Contacts/Connections.”
  - Search by Name for “Energize Denver”, then click “Connect”.
- Share your Property
  - Go to the “Sharing” tab and click “Share (or Edit Access to a Property).”
  - Click “Select Properties” and choose all applicable Denver buildings.
  - Select “City and County of Denver, Energize Denver Program” from your contact list.
  - Choose “Personalized Sharing & Exchange Data”, then click “Continue.”
  - In the sharing settings:
    - Set “Read Only Access”
    - Click “Exchange Data” to open the pop-up, and confirm “Read Only Access”
    - Set “Recognition” to None
    - Set “Share Forward” to Yes
  - Click “Apply Selections & Authorize Exchange,” then click “Share Property(ies)” to complete the process.

PART 2: Data Verification

Verify Data and Submit Data Verification Checklist
- All buildings must submit a Data Verification during one of three times:
  - With your 2025 benchmarking report (verifying 2024 energy use and building information)
  - With your 2026 benchmarking report (verifying 2025 energy use and building information)
  - With a previous target adjustment application. If you completed a data verification previously, you do not need to complete another one until your final performance evaluation
- Find a third-party data verifier
  - You can find trained vendors in our Directory of Trained Service Providers.
  - The data verifier must have the correct credentials to complete the data verification for you
  - The data verifier cannot be the building owner or a building representative who completes the annual benchmarking report
- Follow the instructions in the Data Verification Process Guide
  - VIDEO: The Data Verification Process for Building Owners

PART 3: Submit Your Annual Benchmarking Report

Login or Set Up your Energize Denver Management Portal Account
- Building representatives on file received a link to register for the portal
- Contact the Energize Denver Help Desk if you are having trouble registering
Claim your Building(s) in the Energize Denver Management Portal
- You only need to do this the first time use the Portal to submit your Benchmarking Report
Submit Your Report: On the My Buildings or Dashboard Overview page, click the Submit button next to your property.
- Get Confirmation: Receive notice of submission status and whether revisions are needed.

Download the Detailed Benchmarking User Guide(PDF, 601KB)

Benchmarking Frequently Asked Questions

How should I benchmark multiple buildings that share a meter?

When several buildings share one energy meter, they should benchmark together as a single building. This will let you take advantage of Xcel Energy’s automatic upload function. They will upload your monthly energy data into Energy Star Portfolio Manager for you. You can then benchmark your buildings at the level that makes sense for your strategy.

You may have good reasons to benchmark these shared-meter buildings separately. We encourage you to explore your options. You may want to benchmark these buildings separately if:

You have separate electric meters but a shared gas meter.
One building might have completed an upgrade while the other(s) have not
You want to understand the energy performance of each building on its own.

If you have multiple buildings sharing both electric and gas meters, we urge you to consider sub-metering. This will help you better understand your energy usage. If you do not sub-meter the buildings, you must report the buildings as one account on ESPM.

If you are benchmarking multiple buildings together because they share a meter, please email energizedenver@denvergov.org. This way, we can help you figured out the best way to benchmark.

How can I get whole-building data if energy meters are owned by tenants?

Xcel Energy offers monthly auto-upload of utility data into customers' ESPM accounts. For buildings with more than one account holder, Xcel Energy can provide aggregated whole-building data. The data can go straight to the building owner’s ESPM account through the auto-upload service. You don't need to provide additional documentation if:

There are four or more Xcel Energy tenants in the building
No one tenant uses more than 50 percent of the building’s total energy

If you meet one of these conditions, Xcel Energy's Energy Benchmarking User Guide can help you set up auto-upload. If your building does not meet the above criteria, you must request customer consent to use auto-upload. If you have access to tenant bills, you can enter monthly energy meter data by hand.

What can I do if one or more tenants will not release consent?

Start by confirming that you need consent. Consent is required from tenants if:

There are three or fewer Xcel Energy tenants in the building
One tenant uses more than 50 percent of the building's total energy

If you need consent and a tenant is refusing to provide it, there are some options:

Provide more context, such as:
- The building owner is legally required to benchmark annually.
- ESPM aggregates the energy use of all tenants to protect privacy.
- No specific proprietary information is reported.
- Benchmarking is a widely implemented practice in the United States.
- It is a proven way to reduce overhead costs related to energy use as well as improve the air quality within a community.
Share the Ordinance and Rules (section 3.2.C).
Leverage current lease agreement terms. All leases contain basic language requiring tenants to abide by local laws and work with the owner to meet the legal requirements of the building or they could risk eviction.
Update or establish “green leasing” agreements with tenants to set terms related to data sharing, data access, and or complying with City/State/Federal regulations.

How can I access meter data if I am not the building owner?

If you are not the building owner, Xcel Energy will need to:

Verify that you have a relationship with the building owner.
Get you authorized on the building owner’s Xcel Energy account at the property. This can be done by completing a consent form with the building owner as the customer of record.

The building owner can also contact Xcel Energy at 1-800-481-4700 and request to add you as an authorized contact.

Please reach out to the team at benchmarking@xcelenergy.com for help with your consent form.

How can I access whole-building data for my condominium building?

Xcel Energy will treat the condominium owner’s association as the property owner in these cases. Ensure the property manager/benchmarker is an authorized user on the Xcel account for the common areas. Consent might be needed by the HOA to release the energy data to the property manager or benchmarker. Please reach out tobenchmarking@xcelenergy.comif you have any questions.

How do I request new or updated energy data to be uploaded into my ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager meters as an Xcel Energy customer?

In situations where you find the energy data is not up to date, missing data, or includes a meter that does not contain whole building data, please reach out tobenchmarking@xcelenergy.comto address the issue. In your email, describe the issues you are experiencing, provide the property address(es), and the 7-digit ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Property ID(s).

How do I correctly enter the number of units in a low-, medium-, or high-rise setting for multifamily properties?

Most multifamily properties are categorized as one of the following:

Low Rise (1-4 floors)
Medium (5-9 floors)
High (10 floors or more)

If a building has 11 floors, all units in that building are in a high-rise setting. If a building has eight floors, all units in that building are in a medium-rise setting. The only time a building would have units in more than one setting is if there are two parts of the same building that are of different heights. for example, one section is a high-rise tower and the other section only has three floors.

What energy units do electric and gas meters need to be set to?

Units for electricity are kWh and units for gas are Therms for Xcel Energy gas customers.

How should I enter District Steam and Chilled Water?

If you get district steam and chilled water, Xcel Energy is not currently able to automatically transfer this data to Portfolio Manager for you. District steam and chilled water customers should configure their meters in Portfolio Manager as follows:

District Service, Meter Type, Units
Steam, District Steam, kLbs (thousand pounds)
Chilled Water, District Chilled Water from an electric-driven chiller, ton hours

Note: Steam is billed by Xcel in Mlbs. This is the English system in which Mlbs means thousand pounds. This corresponds to kLbs in the metric system used by Portfolio Manager. Please make sure you select your units as kLbs in Portfolio Manager. The Mlbs option is metric and means million pounds. Do not select Mlbs in Portfolio Manager!

If you are a new District Chilled Water customer or are leaving the district system, you must notify the Energize Denver Help Desk at energizedenver@denvergov.org. We will need to add or remove a target adjustment for your final energy efficiency target.

How should I enter onsite renewable energy generation?

You will need to create an additional Electric Solar Meter or Electric Wind Meter. Then, you need to enter the production data for that system with that meter. Xcel Energy is able to automatically upload Electric Solar Meter data into Portfolio Manager. The meter should be set up the same way as your other auto-upload meters. Xcel Energy is not able to upload the wind turbine data to Portfolio Manager. Your Xcel Energy billing statements will have the information you need to enter manually into ESPM. Xcel Energy will still transfer the electricity you purchased from the grid to the Electric Grid Meter in ESPM.

What if I make an error and need to resubmit my building information?

If your building is already in compliance and you realize you made an error in your submission and need to resubmit information, please call the Energize Denver Help Desk first at 844-536-4528. We must prepare our system to receive your new data, otherwise it will not register.

The square footage or use details I previously reported were incorrect. What do I do?

First you will want to update your property use(s), use details, and square footage in ESPM.
Once your property is up to date in ESPM, you will need to resubmit the benchmarking report for the current year. Contact the Help Desk before resubmitting.
If your property types or square footage details changed from the data used to set your baseline EUI, you will need to submit a target adjustment application so that your targets can be corrected.

How should I benchmark a building with multiple uses, like a strip mall?

Strip malls or mixed-use buildings are generally benchmarked as one building. You should break out the different building types by square footage. You can get aggregated whole-building electricity and natural gas usage data from Xcel Energy. You do not need to collect energy usage information from individual tenants.

Special considerations for strip malls:

If one strip mall falls on more than one parcel, as defined by the tax assessor, each parcel should benchmark as a separate building.
If a driveway divides the strip mall on a single parcel into two distinct buildings, each of those buildings should benchmark separately.
Individual tenants could be broken down into their own building ID for benchmarking purposes, but they cannot share utility meters with other units.
If you own or manage a strip mall, we recommend that you call the Energize Denver Help Desk so we can help you find the right way to benchmark.

My property is mixed use and does not fit under one building use. How detailed should I be when entering my use details?

When you fill out your Benchmarking Report, we recommend entering Building Use Details as specifically and granularly as possible. Please add each use type that exists in your building, even if those spaces are under 5,000 sq. ft. This will ensure that we use the correct building use-types to create and assess your energy efficiency target.

Use the Benchmarking Checklist to make sure you are addressing all details correctly.

If you did not previously break out the different use-types in your building you might need a Target Adjustment. This will ensure your energy efficiency targets accurately reflect your property.