Oregon's Building Performance Standard: deadlines, tiers, and getting ahead.

Who has to comply

Oregon's Building Performance Standard splits covered buildings into two tiers, and the line between them is square footage. Tier 1 is where the actual energy targets live: it covers commercial and hotel/motel buildings 35,000 sq ft and larger. These owners have to meet an energy performance target, not just report numbers.

Tier 2 covers buildings in the 20,000–35,000 sq ft range. For now, Tier 2 is reporting and benchmarking only. You measure and disclose, but you are not yet held to a performance target. The threshold question is the first thing to settle, because it determines whether you are on the hook for results or just for data.

The program was established by HB 3409 in 2023, launched in January 2025, and its final rules took effect August 5, 2025. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE).

The Tier 1 deadlines

Tier 1 compliance is phased in by building size. The largest buildings go first. The dates are:

• 200,000+ sq ft: comply by June 1, 2028
• 90,000–199,999 sq ft: comply by June 1, 2029
• 35,000–89,999 sq ft: comply by June 1, 2030

Tier 2 buildings have a different obligation: their first data report is due July 1, 2028. That is a reporting deadline, not a performance deadline, an important distinction when you are budgeting effort.

What compliance actually requires

For Tier 1, compliance is more than a one-time filing. You have to benchmark your building in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager using a full 12 months of energy data, then meet your assigned energy performance target. Your energy use intensity (EUI) has to land at or below the threshold for your building type.

On top of the numbers, you document an energy management plan and an operations & maintenance (O&M) program. The plan is what demonstrates the building is being run, not just rated. The practical path to getting from where you are to where the target is runs through an ASHRAE Level 2 audit. That is the study that identifies the specific measures that will move your EUI, with costs and paybacks attached. Without it, you are guessing at what gets you under the line.

What it costs to miss it

The Tier 1 penalty is capped at $5,000 + $1.00 per sq ft of gross floor area per year. On a large building, that per-square-foot figure adds up fast, which is the point of the cap structure.

There is a release valve: with an approved noncompliance mitigation plan, the penalty drops to 30% of $5,000 + $0.20 per sq ft. In other words, an owner who can't hit the target on time but commits to a credible path forward pays a fraction of the full amount. As for Tier 2, there are currently no Tier 2 penalties at all. The obligation is to report, and that is it for now.

The early-compliance incentive (ECAPP)

ODOE runs an early-compliance carrot alongside the stick: the Early Compliance Action and Planning Program (ECAPP). It pays up to $0.85 per sq ft, with per-building caps of $10,000 to $50,000 depending on building type and size. The catch is the size of the pot: the entire program pool is only $2 million. It is small and competitive. Treat it as a limited resource, not a guaranteed rebate.

The application windows open roughly one year before each compliance deadline: Tier 1 200k+ by June 1, 2027; 90k–199,999 by June 1, 2028; 35k–89,999 by June 1, 2029; and Tier 2 by July 1, 2027. One caveat worth stating plainly: verify the current ECAPP round and remaining funding with ODOE before relying on it. The pool is limited.A round can close or run dry, and you don't want a compliance plan that depends on money that's already gone.

On the client side, Energy Trust of Oregon also offers a BPS pathway with incentives and hands-on help for owners. It is a complementary resource, worth lining up alongside ECAPP rather than instead of it.

Oregon vs. Washington

If you operate in both states, the timing matters. Oregon's deadlines run a couple of years behind Washington's, which means Oregon owners have more runway to plan and implement. The trade-off is the incentive: Oregon's early-compliance pool is small, so the window to actually get paid for getting ahead is narrow. More time to comply, less money waiting for those who move first.

What to do this quarter

The work that earns the incentive is the same work you'll have to do for compliance anyway, so the only question is whether you do it while there is still help on the table. Right now:

• Benchmark the building in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager now. You need 12 months of data regardless
• Confirm your tier and the 35,000 sq ft threshold so you know which deadline applies
• Line up an ASHRAE Level 2 audit to identify the measures that get you under your target
• Draft the energy management plan and O&M program in parallel so nothing waits on the audit

The bottom line

Oregon's deadlines are far enough out that it's tempting to wait. But the work (benchmarking, the audit, the measures, the plan) costs the same whether you do it in 2026 or 2029. The only difference is that doing it early can be partly paid for, and doing it late can't. Get ahead while the incentive exists. The work is identical later, minus the help.

I handle Oregon BPS compliance the same way I handle it in Washington: I run the benchmarking and the assessment, draft the plan, and stay through implementation so the building actually clears its target. And so any incentive you're eligible for gets captured before the round closes. Tell me about your building and I'll tell you where you stand.