Energy Efficiency • NYC CompliancePowerCon Energy is a firm that serves commercial, industrial, and multifamily building owners across New York City, delivering expert energy auditing, benchmarking, retro-commissioning, and full NYC Local Law compliance.
About PowerCon Energy
PowerCon Energy is an experienced engineering consulting firm dedicated to providing exceptional service for commercial, industrial, and multifamily building owners across New York City and beyond.
Our goal is to reduce your building's energy consumption while saving you money and improving system operation. Additional benefits include increased capital value of your property and, in many cases, improved occupant comfort.
With over 30 years of experience and a team of licensed professional engineers, we deliver measurable results on every project.
Credentials
Services
PowerCon provides engineering and energy consulting services for commercial, industrial, and multifamily buildings. Select a service below to learn more. For questions, contact us at 212-419-1900 or info@powerconpts.com.
NYC Local Laws
Engineering & Consulting Services
Local Law 97, enacted in 2019 as part of the Climate Mobilization Act, sets mandatory carbon emissions limits on most NYC buildings over 25,000 square feet. It is one of the most aggressive building emissions laws in the United States. Buildings that exceed their annual emissions cap face substantial per-ton financial penalties, which increase significantly in 2030.
LL97 applies to buildings that are:
Certain building types are exempt or have modified requirements, including houses of worship, rent-regulated affordable housing (with extensions), and city-owned buildings.
Each building is assigned an annual carbon emissions cap, calculated by multiplying the building's gross floor area by an emissions intensity limit that varies by occupancy type. The limits tighten over time:
Buildings that exceed their annual emissions limit face a penalty of $268 per metric ton of CO₂-equivalent (tCO₂e) over the cap, assessed annually. For a building significantly over its limit, penalties can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Penalties are due each year the building is non-compliant and do not offset future years.
Covered buildings must submit an annual emissions report to the NYC Department of Buildings by May 1 each year, covering the prior calendar year. Reports must be prepared by a registered design professional (architect or engineer) or an approved third-party provider. The report documents actual energy consumption and calculated carbon emissions using the City's prescribed emissions factors for each fuel type.
PowerCon assists building owners in understanding their current LL97 emissions position, projecting whether they will exceed their 2024–2029 and 2030–2034 caps, and identifying cost-effective pathways to compliance. An energy audit is typically the starting point, as it quantifies current fuel use and identifies measures that reduce both energy costs and carbon emissions.
The 2030–2034 limits are substantially tighter than the 2024–2029 limits. Capital improvements like HVAC upgrades and electrification take time to design, permit, and install. Buildings that begin planning now have far more options than those that wait.
Local Law 88 of 2009 requires two distinct improvements in large non-residential buildings: upgrading lighting systems to meet current energy code standards, and installing electric submeters for tenant spaces. Both requirements apply to non-residential buildings over 25,000 square feet.
LL88 applies to non-residential buildings (or the non-residential portions of mixed-use buildings) that exceed 25,000 gross square feet. Two or more buildings on the same tax lot totaling more than 100,000 square feet are also covered.
Non-residential tenant spaces and common areas must have lighting systems upgraded to comply with the current NYC Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC). The NYCECC sets maximum lighting power density (watts per square foot) limits by space type. Older buildings with inefficient fluorescent or incandescent lighting systems will typically need to be upgraded to LED or other high-efficiency fixtures.
Non-residential tenant spaces of 10,000 square feet or more within covered buildings must be individually submetered for electricity. Submetering allows the building owner to measure and bill each tenant for their actual electricity consumption, creating accountability and typically reducing total building energy use.
Building owners must file a compliance report with the NYC Department of Buildings certifying that lighting upgrades and submetering have been completed. The report must be prepared and certified by a registered design professional (PE or RA). Failure to comply results in civil penalties of $1,000 per year until corrected.
PowerCon provides lighting upgrade design and specification, electric submetering system design and installation oversight, and preparation of the LL88 compliance report for filing with the NYC Department of Buildings. Lighting upgrades are also an energy-saving measure that typically provides a payback of 3–7 years through reduced electricity bills, and may qualify for Con Edison or NYSERDA incentives.
If your building has not yet filed LL88 compliance, contact PowerCon. Penalties accrue annually, and the lighting and submetering improvements may also help reduce your LL97 carbon emissions.
Local Law 84 requires all large NYC buildings to measure and report their energy and water consumption annually using the EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The data is submitted to the NYC Department of Buildings and is publicly disclosed each year.
Building owners or their authorized agents must enter utility data into EPA Portfolio Manager and submit the report to the NYC Department of Buildings annually. The annual deadline is May 1, covering energy use from the prior calendar year. Data must be verified for accuracy before submission.
Failure to file by May 1 results in a civil penalty of $500 per quarter until the filing is completed. Penalties accrue for each quarter the building remains non-compliant.
Benchmarking data is publicly disclosed on the NYC Open Data portal each fall. It is also used in calculating compliance with Local Law 97 carbon emissions limits, as LL97 uses annual energy consumption data to compute a building's carbon emissions. Buildings with poor benchmarking scores may attract scrutiny from tenants, buyers, and lenders.
Local Law 87 requires large NYC buildings to undergo a professional energy audit and retro-commissioning study once every ten years. The audit identifies energy-saving opportunities; the retro-commissioning optimizes the operation of existing systems. Both must be filed with the NYC Department of Buildings.
Buildings over 50,000 gross square feet are covered, on the same threshold as Local Law 84. The filing schedule is determined by the last digit of the building's tax block number:
Both the audit report and retro-commissioning report must be filed with the NYC Department of Buildings by December 31 of the applicable year. Penalties begin at $3,000 for the first violation and increase for continued non-compliance. PowerCon can also help determine whether energy efficiency measures previously completed qualify toward the retro-commissioning requirement.
PowerCon performs ASHRAE Level II energy audits of building systems with detailed engineering analysis. The audit surveys all major energy-consuming systems — HVAC, lighting, domestic hot water, building envelope, and controls — and identifies opportunities to reduce energy consumption, typically by 15% or more.
Buildings over 50,000 square feet in NYC are required under Local Law 87 to conduct an energy audit every 10 years. The schedule is based on the last digit of the building's block number. Even buildings not yet required to file should consider a voluntary audit as a first step toward identifying cost savings.
Retro-commissioning (RCx) is a systematic process of analyzing and optimizing the operation of an existing building's mechanical and electrical systems. Unlike an energy audit, which identifies potential upgrades, retro-commissioning focuses on making existing systems work as they were originally designed — often uncovering low- or no-cost operational improvements that yield immediate energy savings.
All NYC buildings over 50,000 square feet must undergo retro-commissioning as part of Local Law 87 compliance, on the same 10-year schedule as the energy audit. The retro-commissioning study must be performed by a qualified Commissioning Agent and filed with the NYC Department of Buildings.
A building may be exempt from the retro-commissioning process if it meets certain criteria under LEED for Existing Buildings 2009 within two years prior to the reporting date. Certain building types may also pursue a prescriptive compliance path through installation of specific energy efficiency measures.
PowerCon can also help ensure that energy efficiency upgrades already completed count toward this requirement.
The result of retro-commissioning is a better-performing building: lower utility costs, reduced operating and maintenance costs, and improved occupant comfort. Because most RCx measures involve operational adjustments rather than capital expenditure, savings are typically realized immediately after implementation.
PowerCon has Commissioning Process Management Professional (CPMP) certified staff and over 20 years of retro-commissioning experience in New York City and throughout the East Coast.
Energy benchmarking is the process of measuring and tracking a building's energy and water consumption over time using the US EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager platform. The data is used to compare your building's performance against similar buildings nationally, identify trends, and inform decisions about energy efficiency investments.
All NYC buildings over 50,000 square feet must submit benchmarking data annually by May 1, using the EPA's Portfolio Manager tool. Data must be submitted to the NYC Department of Buildings. Buildings that miss the deadline face quarterly fines of $500.
Benchmarking data for covered buildings is publicly disclosed by the City each year, and is used in calculating compliance with Local Law 97 carbon limits.
Beyond legal compliance, benchmarking is a practical management tool. Tracking performance over time allows building owners and managers to detect unusual energy use, verify savings from completed improvements, and prioritize future investment. It is typically the first step before an energy audit or efficiency upgrade.
PowerCon's engineers handle the complete benchmarking process: gathering utility data, entering it into Portfolio Manager, performing quality checks, and submitting the annual report to the NYC Department of Buildings. One year of LL84 benchmarking is included at no additional charge with a PowerCon energy audit.
Submeters allow building managers to measure how much electricity each individual tenant actually uses, enabling accurate and fair billing. According to NYSERDA, submetering has been shown to save an average of 17% of electricity used in apartments, because tenants become more aware of their consumption when they are billed for actual usage.
A master-metered building has a single electric meter for the entire building. Residents are charged a flat rate — typically included in rent — regardless of how much electricity they actually consume. This arrangement gives tenants no financial incentive to conserve energy.
A submetered building installs individual meters for each residential or commercial tenant. Tenants are billed based on actual consumption. In some cases, tenants who are currently "direct metered" (billed directly by the utility) may agree to switch to a submetered arrangement to take advantage of lower bulk electricity rates available to the building owner.
Submetering is most appropriate for buildings that are currently master-metered. PowerCon can assess your building's electrical infrastructure, evaluate the cost of installation, and project the likely savings and payback period before you commit to a project.
NYC Local Law 88 requires submetering of tenant spaces in non-residential buildings over 25,000 square feet. Residential submetering in New York is governed by the New York State Public Service Commission (NYCRR 16). PowerCon handles design, permitting, installation oversight, and testing for both residential and commercial submetering projects.
Cogeneration, also known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), is a technology that generates electricity on-site while simultaneously capturing and using the waste heat that would otherwise be lost. Because a single fuel source produces both electricity and useful heat, CHP systems are significantly more efficient than generating electricity and heat separately.
The most common small cogeneration units use a reciprocating engine or microturbine that burns natural gas to spin an electric generator. The waste heat produced by the engine — which in a conventional power plant would be vented to the atmosphere — is instead captured and used to produce hot water for space heating or domestic use.
Because the cost of the system is allocated to electricity production, the resulting heat is obtained at very low marginal cost, substantially reducing overall utility bills.
CHP works best in buildings with consistent, year-round heating loads — such as multifamily residential buildings with domestic hot water demand — and where electricity costs are high relative to natural gas costs. Buildings with high electricity demand and significant simultaneous heat loads are the strongest candidates.
PowerCon performs a feasibility study to determine whether CHP makes financial sense for your building, including load analysis, equipment sizing, utility interconnection requirements, and projected financial returns. If the project is viable, PowerCon provides full engineering design, equipment specification, and installation oversight through to system startup.
When properly sized and operated, a cogeneration system can generate positive cash flow from the time it is turned on. Available incentives from Con Edison and NYSERDA may significantly offset installation costs. A thorough feasibility study is essential to verify this for any specific building.
Following an energy audit, many building owners choose to implement some or all of the recommended energy-saving measures. PowerCon provides project management services for these implementation projects — from contractor selection and bid review through installation oversight and final commissioning.
Having PowerCon's engineers oversee installation — rather than leaving it to contractors alone — ensures that work is done correctly and that projected energy savings are actually realized. PowerCon's project managers wrote the specifications, understand the engineering intent, and can identify and resolve problems before they affect performance.
New York City has phased out the use of No. 6 and No. 4 residual fuel oils under its air quality regulations. Buildings that previously burned these fuels must convert their heating and hot water systems to cleaner alternatives. PowerCon helps building owners navigate the conversion process and select the most appropriate replacement fuel system.
No. 6 oil was required to be phased out by 2015. No. 4 oil is being phased out on a rolling schedule. Buildings that have not yet converted should contact PowerCon to understand their current compliance status and conversion options.
The primary alternatives to No. 6 and No. 4 oil are:
Note: If your existing heavy oil burner is capable of burning gas or No. 2 oil (check the burner nameplate), you may not need to replace the entire burner — only the fuel train and controls. PowerCon can assess your existing equipment.
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Whether you're facing a compliance deadline or simply want to lower your energy bills, we're ready to help. Reach out for a free initial assessment.