Skip to content
Honeydew Energy Advisors
Region
Jurisdiction
Services
Home / Regions / Maryland / BEPS
MD BEPS compliance

MD BEPS, explained the way the letter should have explained it.

Maryland BEPS is a statewide building energy performance standard. It starts with annual benchmarking, adds third-party verification, and works toward intensity and emissions targets. Here is the whole shape of it.

No obligation. We will tell you if you do not need us.
The Maryland program
Covered 35,000 sq ft and up Statewide, administered by MDE. Montgomery County buildings file with the county instead.
Step one Benchmarking Annual reporting of whole-building energy use. This is live now.
Step two Verification Third-party verification of the benchmarking data for covered buildings.
Step three Performance targets Weather-normalized site EUI and direct greenhouse gas intensity, phasing in over the program.

Dates and thresholds change. We confirm the current requirement for your specific building before anyone acts on it.

What MD BEPS actually asks of a building.

Maryland packaged its program differently from DC, and the marketing name people search for, MD BEPS, covers all of it at once. Underneath there are three separate obligations: report your energy use each year, have that data verified by a qualified third party, and eventually meet intensity and emissions targets.

The metrics are the important detail. Maryland does not grade on the ENERGY STAR score. It uses weather-normalized site energy use intensity and direct greenhouse gas intensity, which means fuel choice matters directly and not just total consumption. Two buildings with identical energy use can be in different positions depending on what they burn.

For most owners the honest sequencing advice is: get the benchmarking and verification right first, because they are due now and because the targets are applied to those numbers. A target conversation built on unverified data is a conversation you will have twice.

Three things to sort out first
Verified square footage
Every metric in the program is per square foot. Verify the denominator before optimizing the numerator.
Fuel mix
Direct greenhouse gas intensity is about what you burn on site. This is where electrification decisions start to matter.
Verification lead time
Verification is a scheduling constraint near the deadline. Early is cheaper.
The services behind this page

How we run a Maryland BEPS engagement

Compliance first, then the position, then the plan.

1
Confirm program and coverage
State or Montgomery County, threshold, and building definition. This is also where legacy dual-filed buildings get sorted out.
2
File clean benchmarking
Complete meters, verified area, correct property structure.
3
Get it verified
Third-party verification arranged with the independence rules for Maryland confirmed in advance.
4
Establish the target position
Where the building sits against intensity and emissions targets, and what the gap costs to close.
5
Build the improvement plan
Measures sequenced against your capital plan, with incentives and EmPOWER programs factored in rather than left on the table.
Enforcement, plainly

Notice-driven today, targets later.

Maryland enforces benchmarking through notices, and the performance side of the program phases in on published dates. That means today the realistic exposure is a missed filing, and tomorrow it is a target you cannot hit because nobody looked at the trend.

We do not use penalty scare tactics where they do not apply, and we will tell you when the pressure is real and when it is not. What we do push on is documentation, because that is what turns a target problem into a manageable plan.

Received a letter?

What an MDE letter usually means.

Maryland enforces benchmarking through notices, and they are already going out.

Send us the letter
Notice of Required Action
The building is on the state Covered Building List with a filing outstanding. There is a defined route back into compliance, and a partial submission can sometimes stop the clock while the rest is assembled.
Covered Building List confirmation
You have been identified as covered. If the building is under threshold or in Montgomery County, the correct response is to have the list corrected and the notice vacated, not to ask for an exemption.

Send us the letter itself, not a summary. We read it for the six things that decide the response: who sent it, which building and identifier it names, what period it covers, what it says you failed to do, the cure date, and whether it is a first notice or an escalation. We never quote a running penalty total, and we cure first, then talk to the regulator.

Why Maryland boards use Honeydew

We are in the Mid-Atlantic and we have been through every version of this program since it was drafted.

Actually local
We are based in the DMV and sit in the stakeholder meetings where these rules get written, not on a national help desk.
Built for boards
Most of our clients are condo and co-op boards and the managers who serve them. We present in plain English, on your meeting schedule.
Credentialed
Certified Energy Manager on staff, Portfolio Manager specialists, and the credentials the verification work requires.
One accountable partner
We are not engineers and we do not pretend to be. We manage the process, coordinate the right vendors, and own the outcome.
Owners and managers we work with
FirstService Residential Legum & Norman EJF Real Estate Services Comsource Management Barkan Management Howard University Regency Centers Montgomery County Green Bank

MD BEPS questions

Both. Benchmarking is the reporting step inside the BEPS program, and it is what is due now. The performance targets come later and are calculated from the data you file today.

Not for compliance. Maryland measures weather-normalized site energy use intensity and direct greenhouse gas intensity. The score is still useful as a management number and lenders still ask about it, but it is not what you are graded on here.

For covered buildings, yes, third-party verification is part of the program. The practical question is who is allowed to do it and when it has to be complete, which we confirm per building.

Partly. The concepts do, the filing does not. Montgomery County buildings file with county DEP only since HB49, and county enforcement works differently. Use the Montgomery County pages instead.

Keep reading

The pages that usually matter next for a Maryland building.

Annual filing Benchmarking in Maryland The annual filing, what is reported, and how we keep the record clean. Third-party Verification in Maryland Third-party data verification and the square footage work that moves every number. Everything we do here Full services in Maryland Everything Honeydew manages here, compliance and energy services together.
What is BEPS? All Honeydew services Every region we serve Latest rule changes on the blog

Find out where your Maryland building really stands.

Coverage, outstanding filings, verification status, and the gap to the targets. One call, no obligation.

202-670-9625 Send us the address
Start with the building

Tell us what is on your plate. We will help you sort it out.

A notice, a deadline, a portfolio, or simply a question. You do not need to have it organized before you call.

202-670-9625
Monday to Friday, and yes, a person answers.

Thank you. It is on its way.

Your request has been saved. An advisor will reply, usually the same business day.

Send us the details

Everything here is optional except a way to reach you.

Goes to [email protected]. We do not share your information or sell it to vendors.

Privacy choices

Choose which optional tools may run. Contact forms and our standard phone number remain available.

Privacy details