Group 1 Covered Building

Any privately owned non-residential building over 250,000 Sq. Ft.

Group 2 Covered Building

Any privately owned non-residential building between 50,000 and 250,000 Sq. Ft.

Group 3 Covered Building

Any privately owned non-residential building between 25,000 and 50,000 Sq. Ft.

Group 4 Covered Building

Privately owned multifamily residential or mixed-use building over 250,000 Sq. Ft.

Group 5 Covered Building

Privately owned multifamily residential or mixed-use building between 25,000 and 250,000 Sq. Ft.

County-owned Covered Building

Any county-owned building over 50,000 Sq. Ft.

Annual benchmarking reporting requires 12 calendar months of whole-building energy and building use data. For example, in 2025, building owners must report 12 months of 2024 data.

June 1, annually. Benchmarking reports must be submitted on an annual basis using the previous year’s data via ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®. This is the EPA’s benchmarking tool that is used for compliance reporting in most ordinances across the country.

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are often considered Phase II of these building energy use ordinances. After reporting your benchmarking data, many ordinances require you to make changes to the building’s operations or equipment to lower energy use over time.

Montgomery building owners receive a “baseline” which averages their two highest site Energy Use Intensities (EUI) from their baseline years (outline below). Each covered building is then given a final performance standard based on their building use type. After five years, covered buildings will be assessed to see if they are meeting the interim performance standard, which is halfway between their baseline and final standard.

County Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2015
• Baseline Years: 2018-2022
• Interim Performance Standard: December 31, 2028
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2033

Group 1 Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2016
• Baseline Years: 2018-2022
• Interim Performance Standard: December 31, 2028
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2033

Group 2 Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2017
• Baseline Years: 2018-2022
• Interim Performance Standard: December 31, 2028
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2033

Group 3 Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2023
• Baseline Years: 2022-2024
• Interim Performance Standard: December 21, 2030
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2035

Group 4 Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2023
• Baseline Years: 2022-2024
• Interim Performance Standard: December 21, 2030
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2035

Group 5 Building Deadlines

• First Benchmarking Deadline: 2024
• Baseline Years: 2023-2025
• Interim Performance Standard: December 31, 2031
• Final Performance Standard: December 31, 2036

Third-party data verification requires owners/managers of covered buildings to hire a third-party expert who will independently review and verify the building’s benchmarking data.

Under Montgomery BEPS, data verification was required in the first benchmarking year and must be done every 3 years thereafter.

Failure to comply with Montgomery BEPS will result in a Class A civil violation with a penalty up to $500. Penalties up to $750 an be assess for repeat offenders.

CONTACT US HERE to learn more and get started with compliance.

Montgomery BEPS compliance can be confusing and hard to navigate. Bringing on a consultant like VCA Green streamlines the entire process while ensuring accurate reporting. We also offer free consultations with our benchmarking clients to review the reports and identify inefficiencies to improve.

Ordinances such as Montgomery BEPS are already in effect across the country, and deadlines are rapidly approaching. Retrieving historical building data will take time, especially when coordinating with property managers and utilities.

Waiting until the last minute risks missing compliance windows resulting in fines and enforcement penalties. VCA Green takes every measure to ensure complete and accurate data collection. The sooner you reach out, the sooner you will reach compliance.

Property Size

Commercial and multifamily residential building over 35,000 Sq. Ft. that are either:

• A single building
• Two or more buildings that are served in whole or in part by the same electric or gas meter or are served by the same heating or cooling systems

Annual benchmarking reporting requires 12 calendar months of whole-building energy and building use data. For example, in 2025, building owners must report 12 months of 2024 data.

June 1, annually.

Benchmarking reports must be submitted on an annual basis using the previous year’s data via ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®. This is the EPA’s benchmarking tool that is used for compliance reporting in most ordinances across the country.

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are often considered Phase II of these building energy use ordinances. After reporting your benchmarking data, many ordinances require you to make changes to the building’s operations or equipment to lower energy use over time.

Maryland BEPS requires covered properties to meet two interim and a final performance standard. These standards are measured in Kg CO2e and vary based on building use type.

BPS Due Date

• First interim performance standards: 2030-2034
• Second interim performance standards: 2035-2039
• Final performance standard: 2040 onwards

You can view the standards by property type here.

Third-party data verification requires owners/managers of covered buildings to hire a third-party expert who will independently review and verify the building’s benchmarking data.

Under Maryland BEPS, data verification is required for every five years starting in 2026 (reporting 2025 data). Data verification years:

• 2025 (benchmarking report due 2026)
• 2030 (benchmarking report due 2031)
• 2035 (benchmarking report due 3036)
• 2040 (benchmarking report due 2041)

Buildings out of compliance with Maryland Building Energy Performance Standards will be fined for every metric ton of CO2 they emit beyond the standard set by Maryland.

Fines begin in 2030 at $230 per metric ton of excess CO2 in 2020 dollars (can be adjusted for inflation). Each year this fee increases by $4.

CONTACT US HERE to learn more and get started with compliance.

Maryland BEPS compliance can be confusing and hard to navigate. Bringing on a consultant like VCA Green streamlines the entire process while ensuring accurate reporting. We also offer free consultations with our benchmarking clients to review the reports and identify inefficiencies to improve.

Ordinances such as Maryland Building Energy Performance Standards are already in effect across the country, and deadlines are rapidly approaching. Retrieving historical building data will take time, especially when coordinating with property managers and utilities.

Waiting until the last minute risks missing compliance windows resulting in fines and enforcement penalties. VCA Green takes every measure to ensure complete and accurate data collection. The sooner you reach out, the sooner you will reach compliance.