Multifamily Energy Reporting Pilot Project Results

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The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) has completed a pilot project to clarify the compliance costs and pinch points for property owners if the City were to extend existing commercial energy reporting requirements to cover multifamily residential buildings. From May 2025 through May 2026, BPS contracted Efficiency for Everyone to engage property managers of five apartment buildings varying in size and distributed across Portland.

Based on the pilot project results, BPS estimated that building energy benchmarking and reporting to the City would require a property manager to spend 3 to 9 hours per building in their first year and less than 2 hours annually in future years. Consistent with BPS's administration of the City's Commercial Building Energy Reporting Program since 2015, this level of effort is not expected to necessitate the hiring of additional property manager staff, increasing rent charges, or communicating with tenants about the reporting.

In addition to the benefits of measuring energy performance, participation in the pilot prepared property managers to comply with the State's new energy benchmarking requirements that will require reporting to the Oregon Department of Energy by July 1, 2028, for multifamily residential buildings 35,000 square feet and larger.

View pilot results and report here: