All buildings in New York City with more than 50,000 square feet are required by Local Law 87 (LL87) to undertake periodic energy audits. It aligns with the Greener, Better Buildings Plan (GGBP). This law mandates building owners to report their energy usage through energy audits, which survey and analyze energy use, and retro-commissioning, which is the process of verifying proper system installation and operation.
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Local Law 87 and the compliance
One of the essential duties of a building owner is to follow local rules and regulations.
If you do not follow these laws, then there is a hefty fine, and thus it is your responsibility to submit the report timely to avoid worst-case scenarios. These laws are made to control greenhouse gases.
These rules applied to large structures and were implemented as part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP) initiative, which began in 2009. In this post, we will go through Local Law 87 in detail.
Report submission every ten years
Under Local Law 87, every building having an area that is more significant than 50,000 must conduct an energy audit of the facility at an interval of 10 years. Such structures need to submit the report known as the Energy Efficiency Report to the Department of Building as per the submission date following their building tax number.
1. Energy Audit
The initial step is an energy audit that involves an inspection of the building’s machinery and an evaluation of the preceding two years’ energy bills. HVAC, light, and electrical components are just a few of the things that will be scrutinized. The audit is a critical stage in determining whether or not actions to reduce energy usage and expenditures can be implemented. Because of the potential cost reductions, this is good for both you and the environment.
2. Retro-Commissioning
The next step in the retro-commissioning process is to inspect and rectify machinery to optimize the facility’s energy utilization. After all repair work and replacements have been completed, an EER is built and digitally submitted with the city, the certificate, and acquired data.
3. Timeline for submission of a report under Local Law 87
Every building has a different compliance date. The last four numbers of your building’s block number define your deadline. The dates are as follows:
| Last Digits of Block Number | Compliance Deadline |
| 8 | December 31, 2019 |
| 9 | December 31, 2020 |
| 10 | December 31, 2021 |
| 11 | December 31, 2022 |
| 12 | December 31, 2023 |
Fees for file submission begin at $375 for the first file, $155 for extensions, and $145 for report changes. Remember that by following these procedures and completing your application, you will avoid potential financial fines and building restrictions and save money on your power bill.
Dues and penalties
You may incur fines if these dates do not file your EER. Initially, the penalty was $3000. Following that, you will be penalized $5,000 for each subsequent year. Other ramifications include the refusal of building permits.
Last few words!
You should follow these rules as they are essential for the environment as well as for ourselves. Thus, every building falling under this law must submit its report at the earliest.