Bill > S1052

This bill mandates a comprehensive study by the Secretary of Energy, to be completed within two years of enactment, examining the effects of state and local policies that require commercial and multifamily buildings to track and report their energy performance, known as "performance benchmarking and disclosure policies." The study will also investigate utility programs that provide building owners with aggregated energy usage data for entire buildings, especially in multi-tenant properties. The research aims to identify the most effective policy approaches that have led to significant improvements in building energy efficiency, considering factors like compliance rates, costs and benefits for various stakeholders, utility data practices, privacy concerns, and challenges in gathering energy information from tenants. It will also look into how to handle buildings with mixed uses, unavailable baseline data, or high energy demands, as well as implementation methods, government tool security, and international experiences. Following this study, the Secretary can award competitive grants to utilities, utility regulators, states, and local governments to develop and implement promising programs and policies related to energy benchmarking, disclosure, and data aggregation, with $5 million authorized annually for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for these grants. The Secretary is also required to seek input from stakeholders and report to Congress on the progress of these initiatives every two years.