Alongside co-authors Katie Kaluzny of Illinois Green Alliance, Rick Tonielli of ComEd, and Dan Streit and Jeannette LeZaks of Slipstream, Calico’s Colleen Morris has published “Connecting the Dots: How Utility Data Access Enables Building Performance Success” as part of ACEEE’s 2026 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings.

Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards (BPS) depend on complete, accurate, and easily accessible whole-building energy data, and utilities are central to providing it. Yet the level of access available to building owners varies widely, creating a significant barrier for jurisdictions considering these policies and for owners trying to comply with them.

This paper examines the connection between utility-enabled data access and the adoption and implementation of benchmarking and BPS policies. Drawing on a national review of utility data access practices, policy adoption data, and interviews with policy implementers, the research finds a clear relationship: benchmarking policies are more prevalent in areas served by utilities offering higher levels of whole-building energy data access. Among the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, 19.6% of the population served by utilities with high levels of data access lived in a jurisdiction with a benchmarking policy, compared with just 4.7% in areas with low data access.
The connection is especially notable for BPS: all 11 local jurisdictions examined that have progressed from benchmarking to a Building Performance Standard are served by utilities providing aggregated whole-building data for both commercial and multifamily buildings through a web service.

The findings also point to an opportunity for utilities. By improving data access, utilities can help remove barriers to building policies, strengthen partnerships with local governments, increase participation in energy efficiency programs, and potentially claim energy savings through market transformation frameworks.

Download the full paper to learn more about the connection between utility data access and successful building energy policies, and the role utilities can play in enabling the market.