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Your San Diego Benchmark Report for 2022 was due on June 1, 2023.

Got questions about the San Diego Building Energy Benchmark Ordinance? Talk to Chuck at 415-937-5046

The City of San Diego has adopted the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (BEBO), requiring property owners and operators of commercial, multifamily and mixed-use properties greater than 50,000 sq. ft. (and for multifamily and mixed-used properties with more than 17 units) to report energy usage.

Covered Buildings & Deadlines

Building Type

Building Size



Commercial

> 50,000 square feet



Multifamily/Mixed-Use

> 50,000 square feet and 17+ residential utility accounts



Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance

Exemptions

Automatic Exemptions

Certain building types are exempt from the requirements of the City’s ordinance and do not need to submit an exemption request. Automatically exempt buildings include:

  • Buildings where more than half of the gross floor area is used for scientific experiments requiring controlled environments, or for manufacturing or industrial purposes.
  • Condominium projects

Exemptions Requiring City Approval

Additionally, other building owners can file an exemption request from reporting if one of the following conditions are met:

  • The owner did not have a Certificate of Occupancy or temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the disclosable building, in accordance with San Diego Municipal Code sections 129.0113 through 129.0118, for more than six months of the calendar year being benchmarked;
  • The owner has begun demolition work on the disclosable building, and it is no longer possible to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy or temporary Certificate of Occupancy prior to June 1;
  • The City Manager determines in his or her sole discretion that disclosure of the owner’s energy use data would result in the release of proprietary information that can be characterized as a trade secret.
  • The owner of a disclosable building cannot collect sufficient information to complete a benchmarking submission. The owner shall provide written or electronic proof of a submission request for data from the utility and tenants and proof that the request was either denied by the utility or the tenants, or no response was received from the tenants.