Large Building Energy Reporting Policy

Massachusetts' Large Building Energy Reporting (LBER) is a law that requires DOER to publicly disclose the Energy Usage of Buildings over 20,000 square feet. It offers transparency to Building stakeholders like tenants and municipalities about Building Energy Usage. The law was signed in 2022.

The law requires electric, gas, and steam utilities to report the information they have on behalf of Building Owners and requires Building Owners to report any additional Energy Usage, like fuel oil, propane, wood, or on-site solar generation.

On March 31st, DOER published the final Covered Buildings List which contains the list of Buildings that have reporting obligations under LBER for 2025.  It can help building owners and agents determine if they are subject to the LBER law, notify utilities what buildings’ energy use needs to be reported, and to notify Building Owners if they need to report other energy usage by June 30^th.  Because this is the first year of the LBER policy, Building Owners still have time to find their properties' Unique Building IDentifiers (UBID), and claim their building, which ensures that DOER has accurate building and contact information for owners, or dispute their Building’s inclusion on the Covered Buildings List. In addition, DOER is sending notifications to Building Owners of record in April of 2025 informing them that their Buildings' Energy Usage will need to be disclosed. Building Owners claiming their Building ensures that they can comply with the LBER law, manage their buildings’ record(s), and get up-to-date information on LBER policy changes and compliance activities. For more detailed information about how to comply with the LBER law, go to the How to respond to your Large Building Energy Reporting Letter page.

LBER Timeline

• Prior to March 30 – DOER will post a draft Covered Buildings List. Owners who claim Buildings prior to this date help refine the draft covered buildings list.
• March 30 - DOER will post the final Covered Buildings List containing the official list of Buildings that have reporting obligations under LBER for 2025.
• June 30 - Reports of energy usage will be due from utilities and Building Owners
• October 31 - DOER will publish LBER disclosure reports

To be notified of LBER policy developments, please claim your building.  If you are not a covered building owner, you can sign up for DOER’s BER mailing list. 

If you have questions in the meantime, please email DOER.BER@mass.gov.

The final version of 225 CMR 27.00: Building Energy Reporting went into effect on February 28^th, 2025. The final regulation incorporates feedback received by the public in September of 2024.  The linked Regulations are UNOFFICIAL. Official regulations can be obtained from the Secretary of State's office.

If you have any questions about the final regulation, please direct them to DOER.BER@mass.gov.

In addition, DOER provides the following for stakeholders:

• A redlined version of the draft showing what changes were made based on public comment
• All written public comment received

• A summary of the comments and DOER’s responses

On October 31, 2025, DOER posted its annual building database and report for Compliance Year 2025

DOER's 10/31/2025 report on Large Building Energy Reporting

Energy Usage Data as reported to DOER as of 10/31/2025

In the regulation, DOER commits to continuing the public conversation about LBER implementation through possible public comment periods on the following Guidelines:

• Calculating Gross Floor Area
• Exempt Building Uses
• Distribution Company, Steam Distribution Company, and Municipal Utility Reporting
• Building Owner Reporting
• Additional Owner Disclosure
• Methodology for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

DOER published a draft Gross Floor Area Guideline and issued stakeholder questions on building exemptions for public comment on March 31, 2025.  Upon review of the public comments and in light of the statutory deadline for publishing the first annual building database and report, DOER has elected to delay the finalization of all guidelines until after the completion of its first annual energy usage reporting period. Instructions for reporting in 2025 have been provided at the LBER webpage. Questions not covered by these materials may be directed to the LBER Helpdesk.

 To be notified of public comment periods for Guidelines, please sign up for DOER’s BER mailing list. If you have questions in the meantime, please email DOER.BER@mass.gov.

On May 14, 2025, DOER granted a request from the municipal lighting plants (MLPs) to waive the reporting requirements for MLPs for Compliance Year 2025. Building Owners in MLP service territories will not be required to report MLP supplied Energy Usage to DOER for Compliance Year 2025. Building Owners will be responsible for reporting Energy Usage only from delivered fuels and other non-utility sources of energy consumption as detailed in the program compliance instructions.

If a Building Owner in an MLP service territory would like to report MLP supplied Energy Usage voluntarily to DOER, they may request this information directly from their MLP.  DOER is currently working with the MLPs on this process and will provide details at a later date.  Please note, any voluntarily submitted MLP supplied Energy Usage may be submitted after the June 30, 2025 reporting deadline.