The City of Saint Paul's Energy Benchmarking ordinance requires that owners of multi-family and commercial properties 50,000 square feet and larger must benchmark their energy and water usage annually by June 1.

To comply with the Energy Benchmarking Ordinance, follow these steps:

Step 1:          Decide on your level of data disclosure
Step 2:          Create a free Energy Star Portfolio Manager Account
Step 3:          Set up properties and add your building ID
Step 4:          Set up meters; add energy/water data (the City and utilities can help)
Step 5:          Report your benchmarking data to the City

Step 1:  Decide to disclose full or partial data

Saint Paul gives property owners the option to disclose full or partial data on their property’s energy and water use when complying with this ordinance. Submitting full data takes no extra effort and provides access to energy efficiency support, Energize Saint Paul programs like our Energy Concierge Service, and recognition of energy efficiency leadership by the City of Saint Paul as part of the Race to Reduce.

Full Disclosure: When you submit your data through the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, energy and water usage as well as property info are sent to the City.

Partial Disclosure: When you submit your data through the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, only property info is shared with the City, not energy and water usage.

A table showing the difference between full and partial data disclosure. Full data disclosure will allow building owners to take advantage of several program aspects that partial disclosure will not.

To continue, you must select one of the following options:

Benchmark data with FULL disclosure *    

Benchmark data with PARTIAL disclosure *

The City of Saint Paul provides free technical support to help building owners set up and automate energy tracking required for reporting.  Compliance with benchmarking ordinances does not require the purchase of any software or services.

*Please read: Important data disclosure notice.

The City of Saint Paul (“City”) is asking you to provide information which includes private information under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA). The City is asking for this private information to assist your building in identifying energy efficiency opportunities and to recognize your leadership, which the City may not be able to do so if you do not provide full data disclosure. You are not legally required to provide full data disclosure requested by the City and you may refuse to provide some or all the information requested. The information you supply will be classified as public data and shared with individuals who request information related to your property’s energy and water use.

Last Edited: March 14, 2024