LL95 Letter Grade Posting Delayed
The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) has announced a delay in the compliance deadline for Local Law 95 (LL95). Typically, letter grades become available for printing on October 1 each year and are required to be posted near each public entrance in a conspicuous location by October 31. The new extended posting requirement deadline for calendar year 2025 is December 31, and grades are unlikely to be available until December 1.
With this being the first year of Local Law 97 (LL97), which introduced new reporting requirements and benchmarking procedures, the DOB requires additional time to review submissions and finalize the letter grades for printing and posting.
What is LL95?
LL95 requires all buildings larger than 25,000 square feet in New York City to receive an energy efficiency grade. This grade is determined by the property’s Energy Star score, which is calculated from the energy data in the annual benchmarking submission. The letter grade must be displayed near each public entrance in a conspicuous location. The current grading system is as follows:
A: 85–100
B: 70–84
C: 55–69
D: 1–54
F: Failure to submit benchmarking data
Letter grades are accessible through the DOB NOW Public Portal. Failure to post before the deadline will result in a DOB violation and an annual penalty of $1,250.
The intent of the law is to provide residents, visitors, and the public with a clear, easy-to-understand view of a building’s energy performance. Like LL97, the letter grade system is also meant to drive action from owners and managers who want to avoid the consequences of a poor grade. The hope is this leads to meaningful capital investments in efficiency projects and system upgrades.
While most attention is on compliance with LL97, it’s worth remembering that efforts to improve energy performance can deliver the added benefit of raising your building’s letter grade under LL95.
Please note that a low score and grade do not guarantee near term potential fines under LL97. Contact your Aurora account manager if you have any questions.
Market Analysis
Natural Gas
The NYMEX settled for October at $2.835/MMBtu, generally in line with the last 10 years for this timeframe when excluding anomaly periods. Between being in the shoulder season and production levels meeting or slightly exceeding market expectations, the commodity lacked volatility throughout September. Weather forecasts are calling for a La Nina effect once again this winter. While its impact on temperatures in the Northeast can vary, it typically leads to greater precipitation. How La Nina plays out this winter across the country can have a material effect on the NYMEX throughout the critical colder seasons.
Electricity
With summer winding down in New York City, wholesale electricity prices have begun to ease. During the fall shoulder months, demand for power tapers off as homes and businesses cut back on cooling. In September, NYISO Zone J prices stayed in the $0.03-0.04/kWh range, only exceeding this for a few days near month-end. Prices are projected to hold at these seasonally lower levels until winter arrives, when demand typically rebounds and pushes rates higher.
Crude Oil
Similar to August, crude oil price movement was relatively quiet, staying within the $60–65 per barrel range. The sharpest change came in late September when oil prices climbed 3 percent to a seven-week high. This came after an unexpected decline in U.S. crude inventories reinforced market concerns over tightening supply, driven in part by export disruptions in Iraq, Venezuela, and Russia. Prices ended the month at $62 per barrel.
💡 Mitchell’s Tip: Invest in energy efficiency projects.
