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The City of Ann Arbor's City Council unanimously adopted the Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance (City Code 104) in October 2021. The ordinance requires that building owners and managers of buildings greater than 20,000 square feet benchmark - or track - their building's energy and water use. This data is reported annually to the City of Ann Arbor through the EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool.
Learn more about the development of Ann Arbor's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance.
All Properties: Getting Started
Covered Properties (buildings and campuses of buildings) greater than 20,000 square feet are required to submit a benchmarking report to the City of Ann Arbor. Covered Properties are required to submit data for the calendar years below based on their gross floor area.
20,000-49,999 sq. ft.: 2023, 2024 and 2025 calendar years
50,000-99,999 sq. ft.: 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years
100,000 and greater sq ft.: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years
On June 1, 2025, all buildings and campuses of buildings greater than 20,000 square feet are required to benchmark to the City. Covered property square footage is estimated based on information available at the tax parcel level.
Properties comprised of more than one building that fall under the following property types may benchmark each building separately but must report all associated buildings to the City of Ann Arbor as a single campus.
Properties that are not one of the property types above should benchmark and report each building separately. Please contact benchmarking@a2gov.org for more information.
Look up your covered property and their Ann Arbor Benchmarking ID using the lists below:
Ann Arbor Benchmarking Covered Building List - 2026 (Excel)
Ann Arbor Benchmarking Covered Building List - 2026 (PDF)
Property and building addresses can be different for multiple purposes, so it is recommended to look up a building using its Tax Parcel ID.
Look up Parcel IDs based on address using Map Ann Arbor.
Is your building required to report in 2026? Complete the Benchmarking Contact Information Form to receive updates on benchmarking your building.
Ann Arbor Benchmarking Compliance Checklist
Follow an overview of the steps to submit a benchmarking report to the City of Ann Arbor.
How to Benchmark with the City of Ann Arbor
Detailed steps for benchmarking and submitting a report.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide
Get started using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM).
Some properties covered by the ordinance by square footage may eligible for an exemption from submitting a benchmarking report. If you believe you may be exempt, complete the Exemption Request Form. Be sure to include any supporting documentation for your request.
Free Benchmarking Services: Washtenaw 2030 District
One of 26 2030 Districts across North America, the Washtenaw 2030 District offers free benchmarking services to their members.
There is no cost to join the Washtenaw 2030 District, for their benchmarking services, or for their assistance automating DTE or City of Ann Arbor water data uploads.
Direct Support from City Staff
If you require additional assistance and prefer to discuss your inquiry by Teams, Zoom, or phone, City Staff are available for one-on-one assistance.
Call staff at 734.794.6000 x 43743, email benchmarking@a2gov.org, or schedule a Zoom/Teams meeting with staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
See the most frequently asked questions about benchmarking before starting to your report.
Step-by-Step Videos
Step-by-step how to videos for the key steps to benchmark are available on the City's YouTube channel.
New Properties
Create a Benchmarking Profile and Report
Follow the steps below to benchmark and submit your report. Step by step instructions are available in our How to Benchmark Guide
1. Create an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) Profile
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide
Get started using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM).
Learn how to get started with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free tool used to benchmark buildings.
ESPM: How to Set Up Your Property Guide
2. Gather DTE Electricity & Natural Gas Usage
Learn how to access electricity and natural gas data with DTE and uploading data. Whole-building aggregate data can be accessed and automatically uploaded using the DTE Energy Data Hub. Learn more with the guides below.
NOTE: At this time, building owners MUST be an Ann Arbor 2030 District Member to access the DTE Energy Data Hub. Contact the District at A2benchmarking@2030districts.org to learn more.
Requests to the DTE Energy Data Hub must be made by May 1 to receive data by June 1.
DTE Energy Data Hub Guide: Getting Started
DTE Energy Data Hub: Login Website
DTE Energy Data Hub ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Connection Guide: Connecting to ESPM
ESPM How to Get Utility Data into Portfolio Manager Guide: How to manually upload data
Does your building have 14 or fewer tenants?
Buildings with 14 or fewer tenants require tenant authorization to aggregate whole-building energy data. Building owners are required to request this authorization from their tenants using the following process:
Send the City of Ann Arbor Tenant Data Request Letter and DTE's online tenant customer consent form to the building tenants. This link will be provided to you directly from DTE and will be unique for each Covered Property.
If a tenant does not authorize the release of their data, complete the Tenant Data Unavailable form.
3. Gather Constellation Electricity & Natural Gas Usage
Some building owners may use Constellation Energy, a choice natural gas provider. Read the guide below to learn how to access and upload natural gas data.
Constellation Natural Gas Benchmarking Guide: How to download and upload data
4. Gather City of Ann Arbor Water Usage
Read the guides below to learn how to access water data and set up automatic data uploads.
Benchmarking Water Data Guide
Connect your property to the City of Ann Arbor to automate your annual benchmarking report. You will not have to generate and submit an annual report each year or create a new one to fix errors, which will streamline the annual process:. Follow the steps 1-5 in pages 9-13 in the How to Benchmark with the City of Ann Arbor guide.
Manually submit a benchmarking report. You will have to repeat this process each year and if you need to fix any errors in your report
Returning Properties
Properties who have already submitted one or more benchmarking reports do not need to complete all the steps they completed in past years. Properties who are not benchmarking for the first time should follow the steps below to complete their submission due June 1, 2026.
Log in to your ESPM account to ensure you still have access. If you cannot remember your login information, use the "I forgot my password" or "I forgot my username" functions on ESPM's login page.
2. Check Your 2025 Calendar Year Data
Use ESPM's built-in data quality checker to confirm you have complete 2025 calendar year energy and water usage. To do this:
3. Confirm Automated Data is Updated
DTE (electricity and natural gas) and the City of Ann Arbor (water) offer free data automation. If you are taking advantage of this automation, your calendar 2025 energy and water usage will automatically update prior to the June 1, 2026 submission deadline.
Due to billing cycle delays, December 2025 usage may not be uploaded until late February, 2026. If you do not see December 2025 usage uploaded in January 2026, this is expected. If you do not see December 2025 data uploaded by March 2026, notify City Staff so they can correct any issues with City or DTE data automations that could affect multiple properties.
4. Notify City Staff or Your Benchmarking Service Provider of Missing Data
If energy or water data is missing for the 2025 calendar year, notify your benchmarking service provider or City Staff so they can assist you in correcting your report.
5. Check for Compliance Confirmation
Once your calendar year 2025 data is uploaded, whether manually or automatically, the City's compliance tracking software will notify you when your property is determined to be compliant. You will receive an email confirming this from benchmarking@a2gov.org.
If you believe your 2025 calendar year energy and water usage is complete, and you have not received email confirmation of compliance, contact City Staff to confirm if further action is needed.
Looking for a Benchmarking Report?
The City of Ann Arbor Energy and Water Benchmarking Map is an interactive map where you can locate annual benchmarking reports for individual properties covered by the Benchmarking Ordinance.
Annual Reports
Questions? Comments? Email benchmarking@a2gov.org
Need Assistance?
Contact the City's Benchmarking Support Team
Email: benchmarking@a2gov.org
Phone: 734.794.6000 x 43743
OR
Schedule a 60-minute meeting
Schedule a 30-minute meeting
