Independent document-preparation service. Not affiliated with the Washington State Department of Commerce. We never ask for your Clean Buildings Portal login.
File My Building

What's in the kit

Contents as supplied for one building. Updated 29 Oct 2026 against WAC 194-50 as amended 21 Aug 2026.

Commerce's Tier 2 rule asks for three things to be developed and implemented: benchmarking in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, an Energy Management Plan, and an Operations and Maintenance Program. The portal then asks for seven items. The kit prepares the documents and tells you exactly where each one goes.

1. Energy Management Plan (.docx)

Structured on Commerce's optional EMP template (CBPS 039) and Section 5 of the standard as adopted in WAC 194-50-050. Sections: scope and boundaries; roles (owner, energy manager, QEM); energy accounting and the 12-month baseline with EUI and weather-normalised EUI; comparison to your EUI target (Form B); operating parameters (occupancy, hours, schedules, equipment changes); energy efficiency measures and actions; occupant information; O&M overview; planning for tenant improvements and equipment replacement; qualified contractors; annual review and sign-off. Tier 2 exemptions (lighting schedule and survey) are marked so your QEM can see them.

2. Operations & Maintenance Program (.docx + .xlsx)

Built to Section 6 and Normative Annex L (WAC 194-50-060 and -130). The workbook holds the equipment, systems and controls inventory with performance criteria; inspection and maintenance tasks with frequencies and setpoints; a list of systems beyond useful life; and a 12-month implementation record log. The document explains the programme, names who does what, and sets the rule for adjusting frequencies after two unacceptable or three acceptable inspections. Form A asks your QEM to confirm the programme is developed and implemented, so the log matters: start filling it the week you receive the kit.

3. Reporting Tools answer sheet (PDF)

Commerce requires two PDFs with every Tier 2 application: the EMP Reporting Tool (CBPS 022) and the O&M Reporting Tool (CBPS 023). They are Commerce's own forms, so we link you to the official downloads and give you a page-by-page answer sheet, filled from your drafts, to copy across.

4. Benchmarking data sheet (.xlsx)

Twelve consecutive months of electricity, gas and any other fuel, taken from your bills and laid out the way Portfolio Manager wants them, with the property details it asks for and the steps to run the Data Quality Checker and share the property read-only with Commerce for Form C.

5. Portal walk-through and QEM guide (PDF)

Logging in through Secure Access Washington with the code from your Commerce letter; claiming your building from the Tier 2 Data Pool; what each field on Forms A, B and C means; uploading the documents; the incentive application (utility accounts, excluded area, estimated compliance cost, owner signatures); what Commerce's review timelines look like. The QEM guide sets out the current definition, the free training dates, the directory, and what the QEM is attesting to when they sign.

Sample pages

From a complete kit prepared for an anonymised 25,000 sq ft office building in Tacoma: the Energy Management Plan, the O&M Program and the Reporting Tools answer sheet. Yellow marks are items the owner or QEM confirms before filing. The full sample runs to 18 pages plus two workbooks; email us for the whole thing.

First pages of the sample Energy Management Plan, O&M Program and Reporting Tools answer sheet

The sample building is a composite; its figures are realistic but not a real customer's.

What the kit is not

  • Not a signature. Your Qualified Energy Manager reviews the drafts and signs Form A. We do not attest.
  • Not a filing service. You upload the documents and submit from your own portal account.
  • Not advice on the Anti-Displacement Agreement for the enhanced multifamily incentive. That is a legal commitment; read it with your adviser.
  • Not Tier 1. Buildings over 50,000 sq ft of commercial space have targets and audits the kit does not cover.

Sources

Everything on this site traces to one of these. Checked 29 Oct 2026; figures drift, so re-check before you rely on them.