For Maryland building owners, the next BEPS challenge is not only submitting a benchmarking report. It is making sure the report can be verified. That difference matters. A building owner may have energy data, an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account, and a submission plan, but if the information is incomplete, inconsistent, or unsupported, the filing can become a much bigger problem than expected.
Maryland Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) now require owners of covered buildings to think carefully about the accuracy of their benchmarking data. Third-party verification is required for the June 1, 2026 benchmarking reports covering calendar year 2025 data, and verification is expected every five years. For the 2026 cycle, owners also need to pay close attention to MDE guidance around timely submission, the BEPS Portal, the annual reporting fee, and the building’s Unique Building ID (UBID).
This is where many owners underestimate the process. Benchmarking is not just copying utility bills into a platform. Verification turns the filing into a documented compliance exercise. The numbers need to match the building. The building profile needs to match reality. The submission needs to be organized before the deadline.
Third-party verification is intended to confirm that the benchmarking report is complete, reasonable, and properly supported. In practice, that means an independent qualified party reviews the building information and energy data before the report is submitted or accepted as part of the compliance process.
The verifier is not there to guess what the building should have reported. The verifier needs records. That may include utility bills, meter details, gross floor area documentation, property use information, occupancy assumptions, and Portfolio Manager entries. If the owner cannot support the data, the report may need corrections before it can be verified.
This is why waiting until the last minute is risky. If a verifier finds a problem close to the deadline, ownership may not have enough time to gather missing records, correct the building profile, fix meter issues, resolve a UBID problem, or coordinate with utilities.
Many benchmarking problems are not obvious at first glance. A building can look complete in Portfolio Manager while still containing errors that matter. Common issues include missing utility meters, duplicate meters, incorrect property type, incorrect gross floor area, outdated occupancy data, tenant spaces that are not properly reflected, estimated energy entries, calendar-year gaps, or accounts that were copied from an older reporting setup without review.
UBID issues are another major concern. Maryland’s BEPS Portal uses the Unique Building ID to connect the building to the covered building list, dashboard, forms, and payment process. If the wrong UBID is used, or if the building’s list information does not match the owner’s understanding of the property, the filing can become administratively messy.
For larger ownership groups, these problems multiply. A property manager may have partial data. A utility account may be controlled by a tenant. A building engineer may know the mechanical systems, but not the reporting platform. Ownership may assume the consultant has everything needed, while the consultant is still missing key documentation. Verification exposes these gaps.
The immediate concern is timely compliance. The bigger concern is the building’s long-term record. Maryland BEPS is designed to move covered buildings from reporting into performance accountability. If the benchmarking data is wrong, ownership may misunderstand the building’s actual energy and emissions position.
That can affect budgeting, capital planning, asset management, and future compliance decisions. A building that appears efficient because of missing meters may not actually be protected. A building that appears worse than it is because of wrong square footage may create unnecessary concern. A building with the wrong use type may be measured against the wrong expectations.
Good data gives ownership a clear picture. Bad data creates false confidence or unnecessary panic. Neither is good for the asset.
The best time to prepare for verification is before the filing becomes urgent. Owners should gather utility data, confirm all meters, review Portfolio Manager property details, check the covered building list, confirm the UBID, and identify any exemptions or corrections that may apply. The earlier this review happens, the easier it is to fix problems.
This is especially important for buildings with complex ownership structures, mixed-use spaces, master-metered utilities, large tenant spaces, recently renovated areas, or incomplete historical records. These buildings may still be able to comply, but they need a more careful process.
A clean verification process also helps ownership communicate internally. Boards, asset managers, and senior leadership need to know whether the building is simply being filed or whether the building’s compliance position has actually been reviewed.
Before third-party verification, owners should have a clear building profile, current gross floor area information, utility data for the reporting year, meter lists, Portfolio Manager access, building use details, contact information for the responsible parties, and the correct UBID from the Maryland BEPS Portal. If any of those items are unclear, they should be resolved before submission.
Owners should also keep a record of who reviewed the data, when it was reviewed, what assumptions were used, and what corrections were made. This creates a stronger compliance file and reduces confusion in future reporting years.
The Cotocon Group can help Maryland building owners prepare for BEPS third-party verification by reviewing the building’s data, checking Portfolio Manager setup, organizing utility documentation, confirming UBID details, and identifying issues before they become deadline problems. Cotocon can also help owners understand what the report means beyond submission, including where the building may need future attention as Maryland BEPS moves toward performance standards.
Third-party verification should not be treated as a final checkbox. It should be treated as a quality-control step that protects the building’s compliance record. Owners who prepare early will be in a stronger position to file correctly, respond to questions, and plan for what comes next.
Call to action: Before submitting your Maryland BEPS report, make sure the data can stand behind the filing. Contact The Cotocon Group to review your building information, prepare for verification, and create a cleaner compliance pathway.