The Finish Line Approaches: D.C. BEPS Compliance Cycle 1 Ends December 31

The District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) hosted the first webinar in its latest Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) series, "End of Compliance Cycle 1 – General Overview," on October 15, 2026.  DOEE staff from the Building Performance Division outlined the steps building owners must take as Cycle 1 closes, including reporting, the Completed Actions Report (CAR), Building Owner Portal, pathway changes, delays and exemptions, as well as answered questions from attendees.

This Holland & Knight alert summarizes where the BEPS Program stands today and key actions owners should take in the coming months. It builds on Holland & Knight's previous alerts, including "Are You Ready? Building Energy Performance Standards Deadlines Loom in D.C.," February 8, 2023, which addressed the April 2023 pathway selection deadline for buildings subject to Cycle 1.

Where the BEPS Program Stands

DOEE set the first BEPS on January 1, 2021, for privately owned buildings of more than 50,000 square feet, scoring buildings on calendar year (CY) 2018 and 2019 energy benchmarking data. Buildings with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR program certification that had scores below the applicable standard¹ were designated as "Did Not Meet BEPS," entered Cycle 1 and were expected to improve their score by the time the first cycle ends on December 31, 2026. Of the approximately 1,800 privately owned buildings of more than 50,000 square feet in the District, roughly 900 did not meet BEPS and must complete the end-of-cycle requirements. DOEE indicated that its data shows most buildings will meet their targets.

In April 2023, building owners were required to select one of four potential compliance pathways: Prescriptive, Performance, Standard Target or Alternative Compliance Pathway (ACP). Notably, the Prescriptive Pathway, which was available at the outset of Cycle 1, is no longer available. DOEE also recently updated its BEPS Guidebook, first published in March 2022, to version 1.2, which adds exemption criteria and other details.

Buildings between 10,000 and 50,000 square feet currently must submit benchmarking data. DOEE expects to set standards for Cycle 2 by January 2029, with BEPS expanding to smaller buildings around 2035.

Key Deadlines

After May 3, 2027, DOEE will review submitted data and determine whether each owner is compliant. Owners that fail to submit required reports face fines, and owners that miss their targets may also be assessed with significant penalties based upon the square footage of their building.

The Building Owner Portal

DOEE's Building Owner Portal is a secure dashboard for building data and documents, and all required BEPS submissions must go through it. Optional requests may be made through a Helpdesk ticket. The portal connects by email to the Property Data Administrator and the owner listed for each property. Owners should create their accounts using the email address of the owner reported in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and that email must belong to the building's actual legal owner. Owners should update this information if needed. Once the account has been established, owners may add viewers such as outside consultants.

The CAR

The CAR is the official record of the energy efficiency measures and investments made during Cycle 1 and consists of an online form and an Energy Efficiency Measure (EEM) worksheet. All owners of buildings designated "Did Not Meet BEPS" during Cycle 1 must submit a CAR by May 3, 2027; buildings that met BEPS or that are not subject to Cycle 1, do not. Key points include:

• Owners that completed an energy audit can transfer most rows from the audit's EEM worksheet. Owners without an audit should build the report from contracts, utility bills and other records.
• ACP owners should review their ACP agreements because their milestones and deadlines may differ.
• A consultant may submit on the owner's behalf if the owner assigns the consultant the "Building Viewer" role. The owner remains responsible to DOEE, however, and should stay involved and retain records.
• A new owner must complete DOEE's change-of-ownership form. Buyers and sellers have different BEPS obligations, which should be addressed in transaction diligence and documents.

Options Available to Owners

Pathway Change

Any owner in the cycle may request a pathway change. Available options for Cycle 1 building owners now are the Performance Pathway, Standard Target Pathway and ACP (including baseline adjustment). Requests require a Helpdesk ticket and review of the application form by December 31, 2026.

Delay of Compliance

Most owners may request a delay of up to three years and owners of qualified affordable housing may be eligible for a longer delay. The owner must show that a qualifying circumstance is preventing timely compliance. Qualifying circumstances include financial distress, a change of ownership during the cycle, a major renovation, the building becoming unoccupied, pending demolition, a change in property type, historic status or an innovative approach to energy efficiency. Requests require a Helpdesk ticket and the online form, with supporting documentation, by April 1, 2027. See also Chapter 5 of the BEPS Guidebook.

Exemption

An exemption covers the full cycle. Qualifying criteria are full demolition, low occupancy or financial distress. Requests require a Helpdesk ticket with documentation by April 1, 2027. See also Chapter 6 of the BEPS Guidebook.

Takeaways from the DOEE Q&A

• Invest Now or Pay Later: DOEE stated that it is strongly focused on bringing buildings into compliance and would rather see investment and improvements than collect fines. Owners with available funds and a ready project are encouraged to proceed now.
• Improvements Without Results: Owners that completed renovations and energy conservation measures but saw no improvement should document everything in the CAR. If a penalty is assessed, the owner may then seek a settlement. DOEE's third webinar in the series will address what constitutes good-faith efforts to comply with BEPS.
• Benchmarking vs. BEPS: Benchmarking, required since 2008, is a data-submission requirement using the ENERGY STAR program and that covers more buildings than just those in BEPS Cycle 1. BEPS is an energy performance standard based upon the average energy efficiency of buildings in a given category (e.g., office, multifamily, school; or hospital) that currently applies to buildings of more than 50,000 square feet. BEPS will expand to cover a broader range of smaller buildings over the next few years.
• Cycle 2: Cycle 2 standards will be set on or before January 1, 2029, and DOEE will likely hold public engagement during 2028.

Considerations and Next Steps

With less than 10 weeks remaining in Cycle 1, building owners whose properties did not meet BEPS should promptly:

• set up a Building Owner Portal account and confirm that the email utilized in the ENERGY STAR program belongs to the current legal owner of the building
• evaluate whether a pathway change or ACP request is warranted before December 31, 2026
• assess eligibility for a delay or exemption and assemble supporting documentation before April 1, 2027
• begin compiling records for the CAR and arranging third-party verification of CY 2026 benchmarking data for the May 3, 2027, deadline
• confirm for buildings under contract or recently acquired that a change-of-ownership form has been filed and that BEPS obligations are properly allocated between buyer and seller

Owners should also begin preparing for Cycle 2 and the anticipated 2028 public engagement process. DOEE encourages owners to contact the agency early, including through its office hours, if they have questions or extenuating circumstances.

Holland & Knight's environmental attorneys can assist building owners with evaluating end-of-cycle compliance options, preparing pathway change, delay and exemption requests, reviewing CAR submissions, addressing BEPS issues in real estate transactions and engaging with DOEE on Cycle 2 standards. For more information, contact the authors or another member of Holland & Knight's Environmental Team.

Notes

¹ For example, an office building was expected to achieve an Energy Star score of 71 or better.

Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not designed to be, and should not be used as, the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a legal problem, and it should not be substituted for legal advice, which relies on a specific factual analysis. Moreover, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and are constantly changing. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, we urge you to consult the authors of this publication, your Holland & Knight representative or other competent legal counsel.