The “By Invitation Only” Chicago Benchmarking Roundtable on June 11, provided Alternative Utility Services, Inc (AUS). with some new and valuable benchmarking information. In addition, AUS was able to represent our clients, providing feedback to the City and helpdesk regarding issues that multi-use properties may run into. By sharing this information today, we hope to alleviate some of your concerns about the upcoming benchmarking submittal deadline for the City of Chicago.

Have you been contacted by the City?

The City of Chicago is expecting over 1,000 submissions for benchmarking this year, with almost 300 already submitted. Contact AUS if your residential property is over 250,000 square feet and you have NOT yet been contacted by the City. They are utilizing multiple resources for gathering information on building size, but data could still be incomplete.

Don’t be Alarmed

Compliance reminders will be sent out from the City of Chicago over the next few weeks. These will be going out to all properties, even those that have already submitted. If you’ve already engaged with AUS and provided all requested information, then you are all set for this year.  However, if this reminder is the first time you are hearing from the City, or you have completed an exemption request, please contact AUS immediately.

Submitting your Reports

August 1^st is the extended reporting deadline. Automatic confirmations will be sent when reports are submitted. A follow-up confirmation will be sent when your information has been reviewed. If your property does not submit a report by the August 1^st deadline, you will receive a warning letter from the City of Chicago.

If after submission and review, a property falls outside of a standard deviation, the City may contact the property. Should you receive additional guidance or correspondence from the City after this first submittal, please keep AUS informed, as we may be able to help rectify any concerns, clarify information or provide additional means for improving your score.

Going Public

Beginning with the second year of reporting, the City has the right to disclose individual building data to the public. The City has not yet determined what fields will be shared and how they will be shared. We’ve received a lot of feedback regarding the public disclosure of results and understand your frustration. We will keep you posted as soon as we know more about what will be shared.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your property’s benchmarking please contact Alternative Utility Services, Inc., and we will do our best to address any questions and/or concerns that you may have.