New York PowerScore Annual Report: Second Filing Due August 31

Why PowerScore exists

New York's Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act ties legalization to environmental accountability [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Cultivators must benchmark energy, water, waste, and emissions [ny-ocm-sustainability]. OCM designated PowerScore as the approved reporting platform at no cost to licensees [ny-powerscore-guidance] [powerscore-ny-portal].

PowerScore lets operators compare efficiency and productivity metrics (resource use per area and per pound) against industry benchmarks [powerscore-ny-portal].

August 31, 2026 deadline

OCM's 2025-26 reporting reminder targets August 31, 2026 for cultivators and registered organizations licensed on or before December 31, 2025, including those not yet operational [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

First-filing rules in guidance:

Licensees authorized before 2025 filed first reports by August 31, 2025 [ny-powerscore-guidance].

Newer licensees file by August 31 of the year after initial licensure [ny-powerscore-guidance].

Partial operating years still file on schedule [ny-powerscore-guidance].

The August 31, 2026 date is the second annual cycle for early cohorts. Treat it as renewal discipline, not a one-time onboarding task.

Data fields that touch electricity procurement

PowerScore collects [powerscore-ny-portal] [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]:

Monthly electricity consumed from utility bills.

Monthly peak demand where available.

Alternative on-site energy (solar, generator, CHP).

Lighting system details (fixture type, controls).

HVAC and dehumidification descriptions.

Annual cannabis production (wet/dry weight).

Mismatch between reported kWh and supplier invoices triggers compliance questions and ruins internal benchmarking.

Pull twelve consecutive utility months ending before the report period close. Match the same months you use for supply contract true-ups.

Peak demand vs energy in the report

OCM uses peak demand data for benchmarking grid stress alignment [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Your demand charge peak on the utility bill may differ from ISO peak if you are on a tariff with ratchets or different averaging windows.

Enter bill peak unless guidance specifies interval peak. Note methodology in internal records if submetering veg and flower rooms submetering guide.

Aligning PowerScore with NYISO supply costs

Downstate growers paying Zone J ICAP pass-through should keep separate spreadsheets for:

Regulatory reporting (PowerScore kWh and peak).

Supplier settlement (ICAP, LMP, adjustments).

Utility delivery (Con Edison kW).

PowerScore does not replace supplier contract management, but consistent peak data helps explain why supply $/kWh moved when ICAP spiked.

Water and energy together

OCM's sustainability framework covers water and waste alongside energy [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Irrigation pump kWh belongs in energy totals. Do not net pump energy against water gallons in PowerScore fields; enter each metric where the form specifies.

Facilities with recapture or RO systems should document pump nameplate and hours for audit trails.

Not yet operational licenses

OCM requires filing even if not operational [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Submit zero-production reports with facility status notes rather than skipping the deadline.

Construction-phase temporary service meters should report consumption separately from production canopy metrics when forms distinguish buildout from operational phases.

Using PowerScore to lower bills

Reporting is mandatory; benchmarking is the payoff [powerscore-ny-portal]. After filing:

Compare kWh per square foot to prior year.

Flag rooms with rising kWh per pound.

Identify whether peak kW grew faster than kWh (scheduling issue).

Feed findings into LED retrofit and supply RFP timing.

Share non-confidential benchmarks with your energy advisor when shopping New York supply.

License-year reporting window vs calendar year

PowerScore guidance ties filings to license authorization dates, not always January through December [ny-powerscore-guidance]. A cultivator licensed March 15, 2024 might report March 2025 through February 2026 for the August 31, 2026 deadline, while a December 2024 licensee uses a different window [ny-powerscore-guidance].

License issued	First report due	Second report due
Before 2025	August 31, 2025	August 31, 2026 [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]
2025 cohort	August 31, 2026	August 31, 2027 [ny-powerscore-guidance]

Pull utility bills for the exact months OCM expects. Supply contracts trued up on calendar-year volumes will not match PowerScore if you mix periods [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

Benchmark fields OCM uses after you submit

PowerScore converts raw inputs into productivity and intensity metrics—kWh per square foot, gallons per pound, and similar ratios [powerscore-ny-portal]. OCM's sustainability overview states aggregate data informs climate policy under MRTA [ny-ocm-sustainability].

If your kWh per pound jumps 18% year over year while production holds flat, expect follow-up questions even though DCC-style offset purchases do not exist in New York [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Document HVAC filter changes, dehumidifier failures, or extended veg photoperiods in internal notes so you can explain spikes without reopening supplier contracts.

Downstate operators should attach a one-page ICAP context memo for your CFO: PowerScore peak kW is regulatory; Con Edison billing demand drives delivery and NYISO capacity assignment are separate settlement lines [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

Common filing errors

Using calendar year data when license year differs.

Omitting generator kWh run during outages.

Double-counting solar self-generation and utility net metering credits.

Confusing bill demand with connected load.

Leaving HVAC retrofit fields blank after 2025 upgrades.

Enforcement

Webinar materials reference fines, suspension, or revocation for failures [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Assign a named owner and calendar reminder 60 and 30 days before August 31.

After August 31

OCM uses aggregate data for climate policy [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Future rulemaking may tighten efficiency standards using PowerScore baselines. Accurate first and second filings create defensible history if standards tighten.

Energy Use Plan requirements (metering, no fossil primary energy) layer on top of PowerScore; see OCM energy use plan guidance on the sustainability page [ny-ocm-sustainability].

Help resources

OCM sustainability page and PowerScore guidance PDF [ny-powerscore-guidance].

YouTube tutorials linked from OCM reminders [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

PowerScore support through the NYS portal [powerscore-ny-portal].

For bill interpretation before entering data, see understanding your commercial utility bill.

Step-by-step data prep before you log into PowerScore

OCM expects cultivators licensed on or before December 31, 2025 to file by August 31, 2026 [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Block two working days for data assembly before you touch the portal [powerscore-ny-portal].

Day 1: billing pull. Gather twelve consecutive utility months matching your license reporting window [ny-powerscore-guidance]. For each month record total kWh, peak kW if shown, supply versus delivery if split, and on-site solar kWh if net metered [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

Day 2: production and equipment. Enter wet and dry harvest weights by quarter. Update lighting fixture types, HVAC, and dehumidification descriptions to match installed equipment [powerscore-ny-portal] [ny-ocm-sustainability].

Common reconciliation fixes:

Generator run hours during outages belong in energy totals, not zeroed out [ny-powerscore-guidance].

Submetered veg and flower rooms should sum to master meter within reasonable loss tolerance [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

If you switched ESCOs mid-year, combine supply kWh from both invoices; do not double-count delivery [powerscore-ny-portal].

PowerScore converts entries into intensity metrics like kWh per square foot and gallons per pound [powerscore-ny-portal]. OCM uses aggregate submissions for climate policy under MRTA [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Accurate second filings create defensible baselines if future rulemaking tightens standards [ny-powerscore-guidance]. Facilities not yet operational still file with status notes rather than skipping the deadline [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

Using PowerScore output in supply RFPs

After August 31, export your kWh per square foot and peak kW trend from PowerScore [powerscore-ny-portal]. Attach non-confidential summaries to New York electric choice RFPs so suppliers model load factor correctly [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Downstate cultivators should note when peak kW grew faster than kWh, signaling scheduling issues that inflate ICAP tags separately from PowerScore fields [ny-ocm-sustainability].

Webinar materials reference fines, suspension, or revocation for missed deadlines [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Assign a named owner plus calendar reminders at 60 and 30 days before August 31 [ny-powerscore-guidance]. Energy Use Plan updates should match equipment fields you enter; retrofits without plan amendments create audit friction [ny-ocm-sustainability] [ny-powerscore-guidance].

Irrigation pump kWh belongs in energy totals; do not net pump energy against water gallons in PowerScore fields [ny-ocm-sustainability]. Facilities with recapture or RO systems should document pump nameplate and hours for audit trails [ny-powerscore-guidance]. Generator kWh during outages must be included, not omitted [ny-powerscore-guidance] [powerscore-ny-portal].

OCM designated PowerScore as the approved free platform for cultivators to meet resource tracking requirements [ny-powerscore-guidance] [powerscore-ny-portal]. After filing, compare kWh per pound to prior year and flag rooms where peak kW grew faster than kWh [powerscore-ny-portal] [ny-ocm-sustainability].

Construction-phase temporary service meters should report consumption separately from production canopy metrics when forms distinguish buildout from operational phases [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Partial operating years still file on schedule [ny-powerscore-guidance]. YouTube tutorials linked from OCM reminders walk through field-level entry [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026] [powerscore-ny-portal]. OCM requires filing even if not yet operational; submit zero-production reports with status notes rather than skipping August 31 [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026].

Who owns each field internally

Split responsibilities so the August 31 deadline does not become a single overwhelmed compliance manager [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]:

Field group	Owner	Source document
Monthly kWh and peak kW	Finance / operations	Utility and ESCO bills [ny-powerscore-guidance]
Production weights	Cultivation	Harvest logs [powerscore-ny-portal]
Lighting and HVAC specs	Facilities	As-built one-lines [ny-ocm-sustainability]
On-site solar kWh	Engineering	Inverter reports [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]
Water gallons	Irrigation lead	Flow meters or pump runtimes [ny-ocm-sustainability]

Webinar materials reference fines, suspension, or revocation for failures [ny-powerscore-webinar-2026]. Set calendar reminders at 60 and 30 days before August 31 [ny-powerscore-guidance]. After filing, export a PDF snapshot for your license renewal binder even though PowerScore is cloud-hosted [powerscore-ny-portal].