Community Choice Aggregation Consulting Services
| Agency: | Town of Westerly |
|---|---|
| State: | Rhode Island |
| Level of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
|
| Opps ID: | NBD15990408608552391 |
| Posted Date: | Sep 27, 2023 |
| Due Date: | Oct 19, 2023 |
| Solicitation No: | 24-37 |
| Source: | Members Only |
Attachment Preview
TOWN OF WESTERLY / WESTERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP NUMBER: 24-37
RFP NAME: Community Choice Aggregation Consulting Services
September 27, 2023
The Town of Westerly/Westerly Public Schools (Town), Westerly, RI, acting through its
Purchasing Agent, is hereby soliciting sealed proposals for the above referenced RFP and
you are hereby invited to submit a Proposal for the Scope of Work described in this Request
for Proposal, in strict accordance with the Bid Documents.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Bids shall be based on the Terms and Conditions as referenced in this Request for Proposal.
PROPOSAL DUE DATE/SUBMITTING INSTRUCTIONS
PROPOSALS ARE DUE and MUST BE SUBMITTED on the attached BID FORM, Attachment
B, NO LATER THAN 2:00 p.m. on October 19, 2023. A Bid submitted on other than the
attached BID FORM may be rejected. Envelopes containing bids must be sealed and
addressed to the undersigned, at the Purchasing Department, 2nd Floor office, Westerly Town
Hall, 45 Broad St., Westerly, RI 02891 and must be clearly marked with the Name and Address
of Bidder, Bid Due Date and Time, and RFP Number and Title. Bidders must include one
original, five copies and a Digital (soft) copy for Public Use on CD or flash drive of the Bid as
defined in the Instruction to Bidders. The digital copy submitted should contain two (2)
separate files, one (1) for the qualifications section and one (1) for the cost proposal.
Bids must be submitted in two separate sealed envelopes; one for Attachment B – Bid Form and
the other for the Qualifications submittal. The original, hard copies and digital copy for each are
to be submitted in these separate envelopes. These envelopes are to be marked “BID FORM”
and “QUALIFICATIONS”.
PRE-BID MEETING
No pre-bid meeting is scheduled for this solicitation.
BIDDER’S QUESTIONS
Questions regarding this solicitation must be emailed and received by the Purchasing
Agent at ecardillo@westerlyri.gov no later than 12:00 P.M. on October 11, 2023, by
email with the corresponding solicitation number. Questions, if any, and responses
will be posted on the Town of Westerly website at www.westerlyri.gov as an
addendum to this solicitation. Bidders are responsible for checking the Town’s
website for all addenda distributed in response to questions and requests for
additional information.
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TOWN OF WESTERLY / WESTERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
1. Bidder shall base the Proposal on providing all materials and equipment, FOB jobsite.
2. Bidder’s prices shall include all Permits/Fees if applicable.
3. Proposals must be firm for a minimum of 120 days from date of submission.
4. Bid Completeness - Pricing submitted on this project must be an all-inclusive price. The
intent of an all-inclusive Price is such that no Adds or Change Orders will be necessary.
5. If the Bidder submits a supporting/additional document with their bid, that document must
include page numbers.
6. Selection Criteria – While the fee/costs will be discussed and considered during the review
process, cost alone will not be the only selection criteria. The experience of the company
and individual participants will also be considered.
7. This project is Tax exempt for Rhode Island Sales Tax and Federal Excise Taxes.
RFP BID DOCUMENTS
Attachment A – Scope of Work/ Project Schedule, Pages 3-13
Attachment B – Bid Form Pages 14-15
Attachment C – Instruction to Bidders Pages 16-23
APPENDIX A – Bidder Certification Pages 24-28
APPENDIX B – Westerly Standard Professional Agreement Pages 29-37
BIDDER CERTIFICATION and DISCLOSURE FORM: Bidders must include, complete,
sign and submit a Bidder Certification Form with each bid proposal. See APPENDIX A.
This solicitation i s a v a i l a b l e a t www.westerlyri.gov.
The Town of Westerly/Westerly Schools reserves the right to reject any/all bids, waive any informalities
in the bids received and to accept and award the bid to the lowest evaluated bid deemed most favorable
to the interest of the Town/School.
The Town/School does not discriminate based on age, color, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual
orientation, or disability in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Regards,
Eileen Cardillo
Purchasing Agent/Risk Manager
Town of Westerly/ Westerly Public Schools
45 Broad Street
Westerly, RI 02891
Tel: (401) 348-2599
Email: ecardillo@westerlyri.gov
www.WesterlyRI.gov
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TOWN OF WESTERLY / WESTERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ATTACHMENT "A"
SCOPE OF WORK
Community Aggregation Consulting Services
Introduction
The Town of Westerly (“Town”) seeks proposals from qualified, interested
parties to perform the following services:
1. Develop a Community Choice Aggregation Program (“Program”) to
aggregate the electrical load of electricity customers within the
Program jurisdiction. Specifically, the Program should prioritize cost
stability for customers, reduce administrative and overhead costs to
the cities/towns, and enable the municipalities to generate emissions
reductions through the purchase of renewable energy above and
beyond what is required by the state’s Renewable Energy Standard,
or by another method.
2. Develop and secure regulatory approval of the Program in
consultation with the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and
the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
3. Perform all services related to implementing and administering the
Program as defined by and in compliance with Rhode Island
General Laws § 39-3-1.2 and any other applicable statute or
regulation.
The resulting contract from this bid process may be used by other
municipalities in the state. Political Subdivisions (municipalities, institutions for
higher education, municipal/state schools, quasi-public agencies), as authorized by
law, may participate in this Agreement.
A selection committee will review proposals from each Respondent and the
Town will select one or more qualified Respondents to serve as a consultant
(“Respondent”). Participation in the RFP does not commit or bind any
municipality to entering into any agreement with the selected
Respondent(s).
Background
Town of Westerly: Potential aggregate electrical load: ~will be posted in
addendum 1 (includes customers with existing third- party supply
contracts).
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TOWN OF WESTERLY / WESTERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Community Choice Aggregation Goals:
The goals of the Community Choice Aggregation Program are as follows:
1. Electricity cost stability: providing electricity cost stability, as
compared with the semi-annual variations in price per kilowatt hour
(“kWh”) that characterize the default electricity rates offered by
National Grid, the local distribution company.
2. Program and electricity cost minimization: minimizing the cost
of Program administration and commodity purchases for the
Town.
3. Support of renewable energy and sustainability goals: adding
more renewable energy to the Independent System Operator-New
England (“ISO-NE”) electric grid, thereby displacing fossil fuel
generation and ultimately reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”)
emissions on the ISO-NE grid. This can occur through direct
investment in renewable energy projects, the purchase of market-
based instruments such as renewable energy certificates (“RECs”), or
other strategies. The Program’s renewable energy component must
result in “additionality”—that is, the construction of new renewable
energy projects. It is imperative that the Respondent to provide
evidence that supports additionality. The preference is for additionality
to be achieved through the purchase of RECs. The Town encourage
innovative solutions and will also accept strategies for achieving
additionality through direct investment in a renewable energy project
and other strategies. If purchasing RECs, the Town will consider
eligibility for Class I status as the minimum characteristic for a
renewable energy purchase to have additionality. The Town is
interested if Respondents suggest adding other characteristics or
criteria to strengthen the evidence of additionality.
4. Expand opportunities for consumer choice and protection:
allowing customers to opt-up to purchasing additional renewably-
sourced electricity, or conversely, opt-down to the percent required
by the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. The standard offering
should offer additionality as described above and be competitive
with National Grid’s standard offerings.
5. Highly effective communications and customer service:
addressing the demographics of and needs specific to residents
and businesses in the Town.
6. Creative solutions to work towards energy democracy: programs,
incentives, services, etc. aimed at reducing the low-income energy
burden, improving energy efficiency services, especially for difficult to
reach customers such as multi-family properties and renters, and other
strategies to meet climate justice and energy democracy goals.
The Town desires to contract for a default electricity supply at a rate ($/kWh)
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TOWN OF WESTERLY / WESTERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
equal to reasonably projected rates for National Grid’s basic service. Rate
competitiveness is best considered over the length of the aggregation
contract. The default rate will provide price stability through longer term
contracts than basic service, and any price savings should be used to fund
the addition of renewable energy to the ISO-NE grid.
Duration of Contract
The contract that the Town will execute with the successful Respondent will
be for a term of three (3) years and will include an option to renew for two (2)
twelve (12) month terms. The option to renew and extend the contract will
be exercised at the Town’s sole discretion.
Scope of Services
1. Research:
a. Analyze the existing legislation and its impact on the Program efforts;
b. Review any subsequent legislative amendments and conduct
a review of any statutory changes pending within the General
Assembly and any regulatory changes pending at the Rhode
Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers;
c. Monitor relevant Federal legislation and regulations for
potential impacts to the Program; and
d. Determine the impact of the interaction between CCA and
solar projects, specifically community solar and net metered
solar.
2. Develop Aggregation Plan: Respondent shall develop an
aggregation plan in collaboration with community members. This
process should seek to center those who are most impacted and
burdened by the current energy system. The plan, in addition to
meeting all statutory and regulatory requirements, shall include the
goals outlined above.
The Respondent shall perform all technical and legal aspects of
analyzing load data and assessing current and future power supply
needs for inclusion in the plan.
The Respondent shall also include in the plan:
a. Documented strategy for achieving additionality in the default
rate plan, and the methodology to calculate the impact of the
municipality’s purchases or payments in terms of GHG
emissions reduced, kW of renewable energy added to the
ISO-NE grid, and any other relevant metrics. Respondent
should produce a preliminary analysis of the impacts based on
the projected load of the municipality that would be subject to
aggregation.
b. Established procedures to respond to consumer queries and
problems, power supplier problems, distribution company
problems, media queries; and governmental shifts and
proposed changes in policy;
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