Massachusetts Buildings Required to Report Energy Use to State

Large Building Energy Reporting (LBER) is a law from 2022's An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. LBER requires the disclosure of energy use data for buildings in Massachusetts over 20,000 square feet.

The new law takes effect this year.

You may not have heard of LBER unless you own a large building. I certainly had not.

State House News Service (SHNS) says, "More than 30,000 properties currently appear on a draft list of 'covered buildings' tied to the LBER policy, which was embedded in a 2022 clean energy and offshore wind law."

"The policy takes effect this fall and applies to buildings with gross floor area of more than 20,000 square feet."

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The complete list of covered buildings will be posted on March 31, and the state will notify building owners.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources says, "The law requires electric, gas, and steam utilities to report usage data on behalf of covered buildings. It requires owners or agents of covered buildings to report usage of additional energy sources, such as oil, propane, wood, and on-site renewable energy generation."

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources says the Large Building Energy Reporting Law "offers transparency to buildings' stakeholders like tenants and municipalities about building energy use."

It's unclear if there is a penalty for non-compliance with the Large Building Energy Reporting Law.

The idea that the state requires utility companies to provide this information seems a bit creepy. One has to wonder what the state will do with the data it collects and whether it will eventually expand to include smaller buildings and private homes.