Quick answer · as of
What are the best Tier 2 compliance companies in Washington?
For most Tier 2 owners, Tier Two Partners is the best pick in 2026: the lowest fee on a typical building of the companies that publish one, a fee that scales with your square footage, and volume rates for portfolios. Easy BPS (from Pilotlight) charges a flat $5,500, Vert a flat $12,000 for 20,001 to 50,000 sq ft, and mechanical contractors such as MacDonald-Miller quote building by building. Owners whose staff already run Portfolio Manager and work with a Qualified Energy Manager can file it themselves. Prices below are as each company published them in October 2026.
The easy way to file Tier 2 · 1:03 · Transcript
Tier 2 sounds complicated. Energy data, benchmarks, plans, and a Qualified Energy Manager.
Filing it doesn't have to be. Tier Two Partners is the modern way to file. It works a lot like TurboTax.
Add your building in under a minute. You see your deadline, your incentive, and your price, right away.
Connect your utility account, and we pull your energy data for you. No spreadsheets. No digging for bills.
Answer a few simple questions, and sign once. That's your part done, in about ten minutes. You can even do it from your phone.
Then we do the rest. We build your plans, a Qualified Energy Manager signs them, and we file with the state and track it to approval.
Simple. Intuitive. Usually done in two to four weeks.
Check yours today. Get a free quote, or book a call with us to learn more, at tiertwopartners.com.
How do the Tier 2 compliance companies compare?
Here is each option worked out for a 30,000 sq ft building with all space heated, at published prices as of October 24, 2026:
| Rank | Company | Published price | 30,000 sq ft building | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tier Two Partners | $0.15 per eligible sq ft for one building, down to $0.10 at 20+, with the QEM included | $4,500 | Single buildings under about 36,000 sq ft, and portfolios of any size |
| 2 | Easy BPS (Pilotlight) | $5,500 per building for a standard filing (easybps.com) | $5,500 | One large Tier 2 building near 50,000 sq ft |
| 3 | Vert (Vert Energy Group) | $12,000 flat for 20,001 to 50,000 sq ft (washingtoncbps.com/pricing) | $12,000 | Owners who also need Tier 1 audit work from the same firm |
| 4 | MacDonald-Miller (mechanical contractor) | No published price; custom plan per building (macmiller.com) | Quote needed | Buildings that already use them for HVAC service |
| 5 | Do it yourself | Your staff's time, plus a QEM if no one on staff qualifies | Varies | Owners with an energy-savvy facilities team |
The Tier 2 early adopter incentive is $0.30 per eligible square foot, so the same 30,000 sq ft building can get up to $9,000 from its utility (Commerce). Full cost breakdown: How much does Tier 2 compliance cost?
Why is Tier Two Partners ranked first?
Our fee follows your building's size, so the incentive covers it with money left over at every Tier 2 size. At $0.15 per eligible square foot, with the QEM included, our fee is half of the $0.30 incentive on every building, whether it's 22,000 or 48,000 sq ft. A flat fee works the other way: Easy BPS's $5,500 is $0.25 per square foot on a 22,000 sq ft building.
- Lowest published fee on a typical building. For one building, our fee, with the QEM included, comes in under Easy BPS's $5,500 up to about 36,000 sq ft, and up to about 42,000 sq ft if you pay in full up front at $0.13 per sq ft.
- Volume pricing. Property managers and owners with 20 or more buildings pay $0.10 per square foot with the QEM included, $3,000 on a 30,000 sq ft building.
- Your price before you talk to anyone. Enter an address and see your fee, the estimated incentive and what you keep.
- Filing and incentive together. We prepare the benchmark, Energy Management Plan and Operations and Maintenance program, a Qualified Energy Manager reviews and signs, and we submit the compliance filing and incentive application in the Clean Buildings Portal.
Half our fee is due once your building's information is in and your price is confirmed, and half when we submit the filing to Commerce. Every provider's fee, ours included, is owed whether or not the utility pays the incentive, because the fee pays for the filing itself.
What does Easy BPS charge for Tier 2?
Easy BPS charges $5,500 for a standard filing on a single Tier 2 building, half at contract signing and half when the application goes to Commerce (easybps.com, FAQ, read October 24, 2026). Easy BPS is run by Pilotlight and files Tier 2 only. Its flat fee is the same on a 21,000 sq ft building as on a 50,000 sq ft one, so it's the better buy only near the top of the Tier 2 range. Easy BPS also says it may charge more when records are missing or the filing is complex.
What does Vert charge for Tier 2?
Vert charges $12,000 flat for a Tier 2 building of 20,001 to 50,000 sq ft, and $17,500 for large multifamily buildings up to 120,000 sq ft (washingtoncbps.com/pricing, read October 24, 2026). The price covers the benchmark, Energy Management Plan, Operations and Maintenance program, Commerce filing and incentive application. On a 30,000 sq ft building, $12,000 is more than the $9,000 incentive.
Do mechanical contractors handle Tier 2 compliance?
Some do. MacDonald-Miller, a Washington mechanical contractor, offers Clean Buildings compliance for Tier 1 and Tier 2 buildings and says it has completed over 1,000 certified building performance benchmarks (macmiller.com, read October 24, 2026). It builds a custom plan per building and doesn't publish a price, so you need a quote. A contractor already servicing your HVAC knows the equipment, which helps with the Operations and Maintenance program. Whoever you hire, the filing still needs a Qualified Energy Manager's signature (CBPS 017).
Can you file Tier 2 yourself instead of hiring a company?
Yes. Commerce publishes the forms, an Energy Management Plan template and Operations and Maintenance tools, and owners file through the Clean Buildings Portal. You still need a Qualified Energy Manager: someone who passed Commerce's Tier 2 training and has two years of building operations or energy experience, or Building Operator Certification Level I (CBPS 017). If a staff member qualifies and already runs Portfolio Manager, doing it in-house can cost less than any company here. What to file: What Tier 2 owners must file by July 1, 2027.
What should you ask any Tier 2 company before you sign?
- Is the Qualified Energy Manager's fee included? Ours is: there's no separate QEM fee.
- Do you file the incentive application too? It's built into the Portal submission, so it should be (How to claim the Tier 2 incentive).
- When is each payment due? Most split it in two, with the second half when the filing goes to Commerce.
- What costs extra? Missing records, site visits and floor-area measurements are common add-ons. With us, only a site visit, if your building needs one, and we tell you its price before booking it.
- Who answers Commerce's questions after submission?
Not filing costs the incentive and can bring a fine of up to $0.30 per square foot after July 1, 2027 (Missed the Tier 2 deadline or got a notice of violation?).