The building owner is accountable for ensuring that an accurate report is submitted. If a building has multiple owners, the owners are then jointly responsible for meeting the regulation's reporting requirement. Condominium corporations must ensure that a report is submitted on behalf of their condominium building.

Building reporting lead

The accountable owner(s) or corporation may designate an employee, third party or resident as the reporting lead to submit the report. A reporting lead requesting data from energy or water utilities may be asked to provide documented proof that they are authorized to request this data. The documented proof that is most commonly requested by utilities is a letter signed by the owner.

Your EWRB ID

The EWRB ID is a unique six-digit number assigned to your property by the Ministry of Energy. The EWRB ID for a building remains the same each year, even if the building is bought or sold.

If you have multiple buildings on your property and are reporting them individually, you will need separate EWRB IDs for each building to submit your report.

Getting your EWRB ID

The EWRB ID for your building will be sent to you in an email or letter by the Ministry of Energy. If you have not received this, contact EWRB Support to get your EWRB ID(s). You will need to confirm your identity by providing your property's 15-digit Assessment Roll Number, which you can find on your property assessment or property tax bill, and your street address.

If you are contacting EWRB Support on behalf of a condominium corporation you may be required to provide a copy of a recent utility bill to a prove you are authorized to report for the condominium.

Your usage data

Include all energy and water usage for the entire building that you are reporting for. The data to be included is for the previous calendar year, from January 1 to December 31. The most common forms of energy are electricity and natural gas, but they also can include diesel, fuel oil, district energy, wood and others.

You can collect usage data from your utility bills and fuel purchase invoices. If you do not have the electricity, natural gas and water bills, you can contact your utility and request your whole-building monthly data for EWRB reporting.

Getting your data from utilities

Electricity, natural gas and water utilities are required to provide you with aggregated monthly data for your building. If monthly data is not available, the utility must provide data for the shortest period available.

Other energy information such as oil, propane, and district energy should be reported separately for each building. You can find this information on your invoice or get it from your fuel provider.

If you need help getting your information from the utility companies, here are some questions you can ask them:

  • I need my building's usage data for EWRB reporting. Can you provide me with the monthly aggregated usage data for my building's electricity/water/fuel use in 2018? (Reminder: You will report your 2018 data by July 1, 2019)
  • Is monthly data available for each calendar month, covering the whole calendar year from January 1 to December 31?
  • If my usage data is not available by calendar month, can you provide me with usage data that starts from the December 2017 meter reading data, ends on the January 2019 meter reading date and includes usage for the 2018 calendar year?
  • When can I expect to receive the total monthly usage data for my building?
  • For future years, when is the earliest I can make my data request?

Most utilities will require some time to prepare your aggregated monthly data. To ensure you have enough time to collect your data before the July 1 deadline, we recommend contacting your utilities in writing as soon as possible in the new year.

Multiple buildings on one property

If you own multiple buildings on one property that are required to report and choose to report them individually, you can request this separate data from your utilities. If the electricity and natural gas information is not available for the individual buildings, (e.g., the buildings are metered together as one) you can report these buildings together or divide the total usage between your buildings.

Buildings with multiple tenants

If you own a building with multiple tenants and you only have one utility meter, you will need to provide the building address, and billing account or meter number from your utility bill when contacting the utilities for your data. Ask for the building's entire usage data for each month, or shortest billing period, for EWRB reporting.

If tenants pay the utilities in your building, you will need to contact your utility company with your building address and ask for the building's entire usage data for each month or shortest billing period, for EWRB reporting. Your utility may ask you to provide proof of authorization to obtain your tenants' usage data.

Verify your data (if required)

If your building is 100,000 square feet or larger, the report information must be verified by a certified professional the first year your report is required, and every five years after that. Verifying your data is voluntary though, if your building is less that 100,000 square feet.

Authorized to verify data

For buildings 100,000 square feet or larger, a certified professional will need to verify your energy and water usage data before submitting your report to EWRB. See the following for who is permitted to verify data:

  • In-house building staff members or third-party professionals
  • Professionals qualified to verify the information you have to report (e.g. energy usage, water use, gross floor area and other building characteristics)
  • Professionals with accreditation or certification from a recognized organization in Canada or the United States

Examples of acceptable accreditation bodies include:

  • American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers
  • Association of Energy Engineers
  • Building Owners and Managers Institute International
  • Canadian Institute for Energy Training
  • International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants
  • International Code Council
  • International Facility Management Association
  • Ontario Building Envelope Council

Examples of acceptable accreditations and certifications include:

  • Building Energy Technology Certificate
  • Building Operator Certification
  • Building Science Specialist of Ontario
  • Certified Building Commissioning Professional
  • Certified Energy Auditor
  • Certified Master Inspector
  • Certified Measurement and Verification Professional
  • Condominium Manager (general license or transitional general license)
  • Certified Professional Accountant
  • Professional Engineers of Ontario
  • Portfolio Manager certifications