New Jersey Benchmarking Is Not Over After July 1: How Owners Should Prepare for 2027

Why Owners Should Start Preparing Immediately

A common mistake is waiting until spring to begin benchmarking work.

By then, many problems are already harder to fix: missing utility bills, tenant turnover, meter changes, property management changes, occupancy changes, water data gaps, Portfolio Manager errors, and unclear responsibility between owner, manager, engineer, and consultant.

Benchmarking is easiest when it is managed throughout the year, not reconstructed at the last minute. The 2026 deadline may have passed, but the 2026 calendar-year data that will support the next reporting cycle is being created right now.

New Jersey’s Energy Policy Is Still Moving

New Jersey's benchmarking requirement exists within a larger energy-efficiency and clean-energy policy environment. NJBPU approved the state's energy and water benchmarking program in 2022, explaining that benchmarking would help large building owners measure and analyze energy and water usage, compare performance, reduce operating costs, and make informed decisions about efficiency improvements.

More recently, on July 15, 2026, NJBPU approved a one-year energy efficiency transition plan designed to lower ratepayer costs and prepare the state for a more modern smart grid and future energy-efficiency program cycle.

For building owners, the message is clear: New Jersey is not moving away from energy data. It is moving deeper into it. Benchmarking is part of that future.

Keep 2026 Utility Data Organized Now

The next benchmarking cycle will depend on clean, complete utility data.

Owners should begin organizing monthly electricity usage, monthly natural gas usage, water consumption, fuel oil delivery records, steam or district energy if applicable, new meter installations, removed or inactive meters, tenant-direct utility data, and utility aggregation records.

Do not wait until the year is over to discover that three months of bills are missing. The Cotocon Group recommends creating a live benchmarking folder for every covered building, updated throughout the year.

Review the Portfolio Manager Account Before Year-End

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager should not be touched only once a year.

Owners should review the account now to confirm property name and address, gross floor area, property use details, occupancy assumptions, meter names, fuel types, active and inactive meters, water meters, building-use changes, and mixed-use space allocation.

A small mistake in Portfolio Manager can distort the building's Energy Use Intensity, ENERGY STAR score eligibility, and annual performance trends. Clean records create better benchmarks.

Turn Benchmarking Results Into Decisions

The most valuable benchmarking question is not: Did we file? The better question is: What did the data tell us?

Benchmarking can help identify buildings using more energy than expected, water consumption anomalies, HVAC scheduling problems, after-hours equipment operation, controls issues, lighting inefficiencies, poor-performing assets within a portfolio, and buildings that may need an audit or retro-commissioning review.

NJBPU has stated that benchmarking helps building owners measure and analyze energy and water usage and compare facilities to similar buildings. That comparison is where strategy begins.

Prepare for Tenant and Utility Data Issues Early

Tenant utility data is often the most time-consuming part of benchmarking.

NJBPU has explained that building owners may obtain aggregated building-level data from utilities, while written tenant consent is required in certain cases, including when there are fewer than four tenants or when one tenant exceeds 50 percent of energy or water consumption.

Owners should not wait until the filing season to review this. Start by asking whether tenants are billed directly, whether common areas are separately metered, whether the building has fewer than four tenants, whether one tenant dominates energy or water usage, whether any tenant moved in or out during 2026, whether water accounts are owner-paid or tenant-paid, and whether the utility data-access process has changed.

Early review gives owners more time to resolve consent, aggregation, and data-quality issues.

Use Benchmarking to Support Budgeting

Energy costs remain one of the most important controllable operating expenses for commercial and multifamily buildings.

Benchmarking can help owners prepare better budgets by identifying seasonal consumption patterns, unexpected utility spikes, buildings with rising energy intensity, water usage trends, opportunities for operational correction, candidate properties for energy audits, and potential low-cost efficiency improvements.

This is especially relevant now because New Jersey is actively discussing energy affordability, efficiency program design, and future grid modernization. NJBPU's July 2026 transition plan emphasized lowering ratepayer costs, reducing administrative overhead, and preparing for more advanced grid programs.

Owners should treat their own buildings the same way: use data to reduce waste, improve planning, and control cost exposure.

Build a Year-Round Benchmarking Calendar

A strong New Jersey benchmarking workflow should include a post-deadline review in August and September, meter and tenant change review in October through December, complete 2026 utility data collection in January through March, Portfolio Manager QA in April through June, and final submission with enough time to correct errors before the next deadline.

The goal is to make benchmarking predictable. Waiting until the last minute is not a strategy; it is a risk.

How The Cotocon Group Can Help

The Cotocon Group supports New Jersey building owners and managers with year-round benchmarking management, including covered-building review, Portfolio Manager setup and maintenance, utility-data collection, tenant data workflow support, water benchmarking, filing preparation, EUI review, portfolio performance analysis, and benchmarking calendar management.

Our goal is to make benchmarking predictable, accurate, and useful.

Final Takeaway

New Jersey benchmarking does not end after July 1.

The owners who benefit most from benchmarking are the ones who use it year-round: to organize utility data, understand building performance, prepare for future filings, and identify opportunities to reduce operating costs.

With New Jersey's energy-efficiency policy landscape continuing to evolve, building owners should not wait for the next deadline to begin preparing.

Start now. Build clean records. Review 2026 data while it is still fresh. And use benchmarking as the first step toward stronger building performance.

Need help preparing your New Jersey portfolio for the next benchmarking cycle? Contact The Cotocon Group for a year-round benchmarking plan.