New California law means commercial building benchmarking program will be implemented

California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed AB 802 into law, which means the state’s building benchmarking program will be implemented.

Under this law, the benchmarking program will be expanded to cover large multifamily housing, making California the first state in the country with a benchmarking program spanning both building sectors. It will also give owners of residential and commercial buildings their total energy usage information.

This data will make it easier for owners to make decisions about energy efficiency and renewable investments to improve building performance. The bill also directs state agencies to double their efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and businesses throughout the state.

That requirement, along with another that directs all electricity providers in the state to get at least 50% of their supply of electricity from renewable resources like wind and solar by no later than 2030, is predicted to cut carbon pollution in the power sector close to 40% below 2020 forecast levels.