PHILADELPHIA—New test scores on efficiency of energy use bycommercial property owners inPhiladelphia won themwell-above-average grades, according to results released onThursday. A city ordinance requires commercial landlors to reporton energy usage.

With more than 86% of the buildings covered under the ordinancereporting, the owners as a group achieved an average EnergyStar score of 64, significantly exceeding the nationalaverage score of 50.

The Building Energy Benchmarking Law, passed bythe City Council and signed byPhiladelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in 2012,requires building owners and operators with more than 50,000 squarefeet of indoor floor space (or mixed-use buildings where at least50,000 square feet of indoor space is devoted to commercial use) toreport annual energy and water consumption, using theEnvironmental Protection Agency's Energy StarPortfolio Manager. Users that successfully benchmark theirbuildings receive scores normalized for building size and adjustedfor weather and building usage.