Energy Benchmark Proposal Sees Support At First Public Hearing

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A small cohort of local leaders, housing and energy professionals, and Montgomery County residents showed up in support of a new program that could set energy-use standards for commercial and multi-family housing in the county.

The proposal builds on the Building Energy Benchmarking Law, which was implemented in 2014 for commercial and county-owned buildings with more than 50,000 square feet and required them to report energy performance to the Department of Environmental Protection. This law was just a tool to see how buildings were performing — it didn’t set a requirement that buildings had to reach, Department of Environmental Protection’s Energy Manager Lindsey Shaw told Patch on Monday.

The proposed Building Energy Performance Standards — better known as BEPS — include amendments to the original law that will increase the properties included in performance review as well as create energy-use standards that buildings must meet.

Proponents of the program cited its necessity to reach broader climate goals and make the county more sustainable.

“While we have ambitious green building codes for new construction, we need similar requirements for existing buildings,” said Adam Ortiz, who joined the county’s public hearing to testify on behalf of County Executive Marc Elrich. “Through BEPS our existing inventory will reduce climate impacts through deep energy retrofits, operational improvements and tenant engagement.”

Mayor Kate Stewart of Takoma Park voiced her approval of the plan, citing tangential benefits that residents could see down the line if it is implemented.

“BEPS is a necessary step beyond benchmarking to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Stewart said at the meeting. “It has also many co-benefits that include lowering operating costs for building owners, improving health from better indoor air quality and reduced air pollution, and creating local jobs.”

BEPS target standards will be measured over four years if passed — buildings are grouped by property type and are required to meet final standards for their grouping. Each building will have a personalized plan of how to get to the final goal, said Shaw. Every year the buildings will submit a review of their progress toward the end of a four-year goal.

If they are not going to meet the guidelines because it was too expensive to implement energy-saving measures, the building owner can submit a building performance improvement plan that shows how they can change to be able to reach the final energy goal years down the line.

Buildings that don’t meet the goal and don’t submit an acceptable improvement plan will have to pay a fine — right now the first fine is $500 and $750 for repeat offenses.

The cost of implementing these changes could be prohibitive to some, said Todd Nedwick, senior director of Sustainability Policy at the National Housing Trust. The trust’s goal is to create and preserve affordable housing.

“Improving the energy efficiency of multi-family buildings can preserve affordable housing by lower operating costs, reduce resident utility bills, and create healthier housing,” said Nedwick at the hearing. “However, affordable housing owners face several obstacles to improving the efficiency of their properties, including limited access to upfront capital and limited staff capacity.”

He recommended that the council improve some funding through grants for owners who are struggling, so that they can comply with the law.

Shruti Bhatnagar, president of the Sierra Club in Montgomery County, lauded the plan for its positive environmental impact, but echoed Nedwick in saying that financial woes must be considered.

“Every effort should be made to minimize the impact of this bill on small businesses’ owners and low-income residential tenants who should not bear the financial impact of this important legislation through increases in rent,” she said at the hearing.

The proposal will head to the county’s Transportation & Environment Committee for a few worksessions, Shaw said.

“We’re still at the beginning stages,” she told Patch. “There’s still a lot to do before the passage of this bill is in sight.”