Energize Denver's June 1 Deadline Is Today: How to Benchmark, Data Verify, and Avoid the Fines

If you own or manage a Denver building 25,000 sq ft or larger, today — June 1 — is the deadline for two separate Energize Denver obligations: your 2025 benchmarking report and your third-party data verification. Miss both with no extension on file and you are non-compliant on benchmarking, which carries a $2,000-per-year fine — rising to as much as $10 per square foot for buildings that have never benchmarked. If you have not finished, do not panic: an approved professional can file a Data Verification Extension Request today, which buys roughly 60 more days to complete verification while protecting you from the penalty. This post lays out exactly what you owe, what it costs to skip it, and the three steps to get compliant before the day is out.

What missing today actually costs

Here is the exposure, with sources, so you can size the risk honestly rather than react to a scary headline:

Two things matter. The City does not publish a separate fine for failing to data verify — it rolls into benchmarking non-compliance, so the operative baseline is $2,000 per year. And the $10 per square foot penalty is the genuinely frightening one, but it applies specifically to buildings that have never benchmarked or whose data predates 2019 — on a 50,000 sq ft building that is up to $500,000. Either way you are flagged “Out of Compliance” in the portal. All of it is avoidable, and most of it is avoidable today.

Three steps to take today

If you are out of runway, this is the exact sequence:

1. Contract an Energize Denver professional to file your extension. Immediately engage an approved professional to file a Data Verification Extension Request on your behalf. This buys roughly 60 additional days to complete the actual verification — and filing it is what stops the clock on the fine.
2. Complete your benchmarking report. Make sure your 2025 building energy data is properly entered and submitted in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM). Benchmarking and data verification are separate — you can and should file the benchmarking report even while verification is still in progress.
3. Complete your data verification. Have your credentialed professional review your ESPM data and submit a signed Data Verification Checklist to CASR. That signed checklist confirms your building data is actually correct — which protects you later from a performance target built on wrong numbers.

What data verification is, and who can sign it

Data verification is the City’s mechanism for confirming the data in your benchmarking report is accurate and detailed. A credentialed, independent third party reviews your ESPM data, generates and completes the ENERGY STAR Data Verification Checklist, signs it, and submits it to CASR. The verifier must hold one of these credentials in good standing — PE, RA, CEM, BEAP, or EMP — and cannot be an employee of the building or owner.

You verify either 2024 or 2025 calendar-year data, and if you have already completed a target adjustment in the past, you are already covered. Doing it now also means you will know exactly where your building sits against its 2028 interim target, you receive any Standard Target Adjustment you qualify for, and you will not have to verify again until your final target year (2032 for most buildings).

Turn a deadline into a funded plan

While you get compliance in order, tap city money to fund what comes next. Denver offers an energy-audit rebate of $5,000 up to $30,000 (ASHRAE Level 2 or higher) to build a real roadmap toward your 2030 performance target — $5,000 for buildings 25,000–50,000 sq ft, and $2,500 + $0.05 per sq ft (capped at $30,000) for larger buildings. If your facility has an energy manager, there is also capacity-building support of up to $5,000 per building (up to $2,500 per individual) covering qualified trainings, certifications, and exams. A stressful deadline becomes the on-ramp to funded efficiency upgrades.

Need immediate help today?

The worst move you can make today is to let June 1 pass in silence. If you need an extension filed immediately, Aim Dynamics is a licensed Energize Denver partner ready to step in and stop the clock. We can file your extension within 24 hours of engagement, submit your 2025 benchmarking to move your status toward “In Compliance,” and handle the complete third-party data verification.

Reach out today to secure your extension and build your compliance plan:

• Name: Chris Mbori, CEM
• Company: Aim Dynamics — licensed Energize Denver partner
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +1 (303) 772-6100 (Office) · (720) 401-1975 (Direct)

Field note

The buildings that get burned by this deadline are rarely the ones that ignored the policy — they are the ones who assumed benchmarking and data verification were the same task, filed the benchmarking report, and never realized verification was a second, separate obligation due the same day. If your portal shows “Not Submitted” or your Data Verification Requirement Satisfied box is unchecked, you are exposed, no matter how clean your Portfolio Manager data looks. The play for anyone reading this on deadline day is simple: file the Data Verification Extension Request first to stop the clock, then complete the verification and lock in any Standard Target Adjustment the building qualifies for. The extension is the cheap insurance most owners don’t know exists — file something today rather than nothing.

Sources

• City and County of Denver, Energize Denver — Buildings 25,000 sq ft or Larger: Performance Requirements
• Energize Denver, Right on Target — Data Verification (Spring 2026 owner briefing), CASR
• Energize Denver Technical Guidance, Sec. 4.5 (Data Verification) and Ch. 4 (Annual Benchmarking Requirements)
• EPA, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager — Data Verification Checklist and Licensed Professional Guide
• Energize Denver Help Desk: (844) 536-4528 · [email protected]

About the author

Chris Mbori

Founder of Eenovators Limited (East African ESCO), partnering with AIM Dynamics. Built Eagles and the ADM portal. AEE Energy Manager of the Year (Sub-Saharan Africa). 10 AEE certifications. Licensed Engineer. Field journal — hype-skeptical, field-tested.

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