Building Energy Compliance Requirements are Coming Quickly – Get Ready! (Washington State Edition)

You may have heard that there are laws all over the country requiring commercial buildings to reduce energy use to meet energy performance standards. Lack of compliance means substantial fines in some areas; you need to start work now. To make it more complicated, the law is different in each municipality.

NPC’s energy team can help and will be publishing a brief summary the requirement in each City and State to let you know what’s coming. Reach out if we can help!

Requirements of the state of Washington’s Clean Building Performance Standards (CBPS):

• Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 68 kBTU/sf for hotels
• Commercial buildings >220,000 sf must comply by June 2026
• Requirements will extend to all buildings >90,000 sf by June 2027 & >50,000 sf by June 2028
• Fines will be enforced at a rate of up to $5,000 plus $1/sf/year, accruing daily
• An alternative compliance pathway includes an energy audit and plan to implement cost-effective energy conservation measures

It is important to begin planning now in case building upgrades are required to meet requirements.

Next Steps:

• Owners should have received a letter explaining how to create a portal account; if you haven’t contact Clean Buildings Program Customer Support Ticket (smartsheet.com)
• If you haven’t already, benchmark your building using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager: Login
• If your hotel’s EUI is above 68, perform an energy audit to determine what you can do