Media Contact

Megan Moeller, Communications Coordinator

Direct: 507-328-2436 | E-mail: mmoeller@rochestermn.gov  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City of Rochester Launching Third Year of Energy Benchmarking Program

March 18, 2020 – ROCHESTER, MINN. – The Rochester Energy Benchmarking Program provides a way for local business and building owners to track their energy use and identify ways to save money on utility bills. The program kicked off in 2019 with 90 participants and continues to build out Rochester’s energy data set, encouraging additional facilities to participate and demonstrate energy reductions. In 2020, the number of participants in the benchmarking program grew to 112 properties, including the program’s first hotel. The 2019 Benchmarking Report can be found here.  

There will be a virtual kick-off event on March 24, 2021 at Noonto introduce the program and participation benefits. Speakers will include Mayor Kim Norton, local utility partners and current participants. Building owners, managers and operators of commercial buildings of any size are encouraged to attend and may register here.

The program will provide valuable information to help identify potential energy efficiency opportunities, save money, and learn how to benchmark your building efficiently using new, automated utility data tools. Project partners include Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) and Minnesota Energy Resources.  They will both assist benchmarking participants in collecting their utility data and offer special incentives and individualized assistance towards your energy savings goals.

The City of Rochester benchmarking team is offering free technical assistance during the weeks of April 26 and May 3 to help property owners set up their ENERGY STAR portfolio manager profile, submit data and learn how to use and interpret their results to track and improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The information to signup can be found here.

Below is a list of materials and information participants will need to gather in order to participate: 

• Property address
• Property Use Details
• Total Gross Floor Area of Property**
• Year Built
• Occupancy (%)
• 2020 digital or paper utility bills for all RPU, Minnesota Energy Resources, and City of Rochester water accounts. Invoices must cover consumption from Jan 1, 2020 – Dec 31, 2020. This may require 13 utility bills, so take a look at the dates for the bills.
  • Utility representatives at RPU and Minnesota Energy Resources have offered to help pull this information together for participants with enough notice. 
    • Josh Mason, RPU: JMason@rpu.org 
    • Paul O’Sullivan, Minnesota Energy Resources: Paul.OSullivan@minnesotaenergyresources.com

*Additional required information varies by building type. Refer to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager’s Data Collection Worksheet.

**Total gross floor area includes the entire floor area of the building, including common areas and leased space.

Those interested in learning more can contact Sustainability Coordinator Lauren Jensen at ljensen@rochestermn.gov. The program team hopes to have all participant profiles set up by early June to begin analyzing the benchmarking data.  Information can also be found here. 

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