Middletown Delays Vote On Mandatory Energy Reporting Program

The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors voted last week week to table a decision on joining a regional energy benchmarking program after questions from a resident and business owner.

The Regional Energy Benchmarking Program has been developed by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and Green Building United.

The program would require that commercial buildings and multifamily dwellings exceeding 25,000 square feet report their annual energy – mainly electric and natural gas – usage to the township.

While the requirement would apply to an estimated 102 properties, which is approximately 28 percent of the township’s commercial buildings. The 28 percent of structures account for 83 percent of the total commercial square footage in the municipality.

According to the local government’s Climate Action Plan, commercial energy use is responsible for roughly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the township.

Assistant Township Manager Nick Valla said the program is a regional collaboration involving several municipalities in Montgomery and Chester counties. Middletown Township would be the only participant from Bucks County.

“This does not do anything to actually change the energy consumption itself,” Valla said. “It’s really just a mechanism to create awareness.”

Valla stated that the data could help property owners identify high usage and connect them with government grants or utility incentives.

Under the proposed three-year rollout, government-owned properties would report first and would be followed by commercial entities in the second year. Enforcement provisions would not take effect until the third year.

The assistant township manager explained that there would be financial hardship exceptions and vacant buildings would not be require to report.

Valla said the DVRPC provides grant funding through 2027 and is close to securing additional funding through 2029 for the program.

There would be no direct cost to the township in the short term, Valla said.

The proposal met some resistance during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Business owner Mike Morris urged the board to reject any mandatory reporting.

Morris argued that compliance costs or potential fines would inevitably be passed down to tenants through higher rents. He suggested the township pursue tax breaks for energy efficiency rather than mandates on reporting.

Resident Lance Eggers expressed skepticism and questioned what future enforcement would look like. He also asked whether the program’s scope would eventually expand beyond simple data collection.

Support for the data-driven approach came from Kevin Deeny, a member of the Middletown Township Environmental Advisory Council, who said the baseline data is important for creating future energy-saving programs and planning.

Supervisor Dana Kane said she had interest in the concept of collecting the data but remained hesitant on the mandates.

“I really like the idea of benchmarking,” Kane said. “I just have some questions around requiring businesses to provide data.”

Kane suggested a motion to table the item and called for directing the Environmental Advisory Council to develop a framework for the program.

The supervisors voted 3-0 to table the item for the moment.

The DVRPC is seeking a final decision by the fall.