Request for Clarification: Production Efficiency: Custom and Strategic Energy Management Request For Proposal

Transcription

1 Request for Clarification: Production Efficiency: Custom and Strategic Energy Management Request For Proposal Questions and Answers ID Respondent Questions Energy Trust of Oregon Responses 1 May we reformat the excel spreadsheets (technical capability matrix, budget proposal) to fit 8.5 x 11 page layout and 11 point font size requirements? requirement. 2 May we re-type Appendix C Cover Sheet content so that it fits the 8.5x11 page and 11 point font size requirements, or should we submit on the pdf form that was in the RFP package? Yes, you are welcome to reformat the excel sheets to fit an 8.5 x 11 page layout, provided you adhere to the 11 point font size Please use the.pdf form that was provided as Appendix C. 3 Is it possible for a provider to respond to the RFP but only for electric solutions rather than both electric and gas? No, proposals must address both electric and gas opportunities in the respondent s territory. 4 Is the use of sub-contractors encouraged by Energy Trust? Energy Trust is interested in proposals that help us meet the goals outlined in the RFP. We do not have a preference regarding whether respondents use subcontractors or not. Respondents must be able to meet the goals and qualifications outlined in the RFP. 5 Will the scoring of a response be different based on whether a bidder doesn't use subs? 6 Can you provide a copy of Energy Trust s standard Terms and Conditions? 7 Can you share any high-level data on the electrical load (amw) in each territory? 8 Given that some gas customers are served on eligible tariffs and some are served on ineligible transport tariffs, can you provide any estimate of how much eligible tariff gas load there is in each territory? Scoring criteria is identified in section 6.3 of the RFP. No, however some of the standard provisions that would be included are noted in section 7.10 of the RFP. Requested information not available. Requested information not available. 1

2 9 Can you provide a more detailed description of the physical dividing line between territory 1 and 2? 10 Will existing open contracts with Energy Trust (SEM, TAS) be transitioned to the PDC in January 2019? Do the open contracts need to be included in our 2019 budget? 11 How much site training time will be required at Energy Trust s office for (onsite) transition trainings, such as CRM, IT, etc.? 12 If a non-incumbent respondent were to take over a territory, would we have access to an extensive history, including past technical studies and SEM completion reports, past record of projects implemented including technical studies performed, energy use history on the electric and gas side, and PDCprepared account plans? Yes, a document identifying the zip codes in territories 1 and 2 will be added to the google drive. Energy Trust anticipates that it will continue to manage and close out all assigned work under its existing ATAC contracts by the end of 2018 and all assigned work under its existing SEM contracts by early These contracts will not be transitioned. Respondents should budget for the transition work described in section 4.2 of the RFP, which includes transition of any new SEM First Year/Continuous work or technical study work that is launched during the transition period (for completion in 2019). Proposed 2019 budgets should address PDC s full delivery of the new program design. Trainings will be identified following selection and will include, at a minimum, two (onsite) trainings on how to access and use Energy Trust systems. Additional orientation trainings on Energy Trust processes and requirements, as well as transition meetings, will be necessary. Respondent s Task 1 operational plan, as described in section 4.2 of the RFP should address respondent s proposed training needs and activities during transition. An incoming PDC will have access to customer project files for their awarded territory and the customer and project information available in the Energy Trust systems of record. Consistent with agreements with its electric and gas funding utilities, Energy Trust receives certain utility customer energy usage data for use in implementing, administering, and/or evaluating Energy Trust programs. All such data is subject to specific confidentiality requirements. Access requires that the PDC (and any of its relevant subcontractors) sign a specific company nondisclosure agreement. Additionally all individuals receiving access to the data are required to sign a specific individual nondisclosure agreement. These nondisclosure agreements have been approved as to form by the utilities and are required without modification. 2

3 13 Do we need Energy Trust permission to authorize (e.g. issue a work order) a technical analysis study on a "project by project" basis, or does the PDC authorize work to manage to the budget without prior approval? 14 Does Energy Trust provide oversight of the budget for TAS; for example, if the RFP submitted budget calls for $300,000 for TAS, and there is an over or under this amount, does Energy Trust adjust the budget, or is the PDC responsible for over/under? 15 What are the expectations for M&V at completion? Our understanding is that many or most projects are inspected to verify set-points, but not measured? Can you offer any shareable data on what fraction of projects or savings are subjected to post-install measurements? Has that historically been a PDC task or a technical study task? 16 Would a lighting system operations and maintenance (O&M) project identified and supported by a custom PDC count toward the custom O&M track? 17 For recent years, can you share any data for what fraction of custom capital and O&M track savings were supported by an Energy Trust technical study (ATAC) versus the technical analysis done in some other fashion? 18 On the bottom of page 9, the sentence reads Energy Trust expects that one PDC can deliver the Custom and SEM offerings more efficiently than separate contractors. This could be interpreted as saying that Energy Trust prefers that the PDC integrate SEM as their own offering, delivered by their own organization, not by a separate SEM firm contractor working as a sub to the PDC. At the top of page 20, the sentence reads Also, under the new design, it will be the PDC s responsibility to have qualified Energy Trust envisions that technical studies will continue to be proposed and authorized on a project by project basis, but the PDC will manage their service incentive spends to their established annual service incentive budget. Energy Trust s role will include authorizing a PDC-proposed study for a participant and final review of studies for conformance with program requirements and service incentive payment. Once the service incentive budget is set, the PDC will be required to manage spending to meet the budget. PDCs verify all custom projects at completion to ensure that the project as-installed meets program requirements and to confirm energy savings projections. This includes reviewing installed equipment and set-points. Depending on the nature of the project, the verification may require data logging. The level of detail for each verification is determined during the analysis stage and included within the technical study. See section 5.4 of the TAS Template provided in the RFP. All lighting savings are acquired in the standard track. All Energy Trust custom capital and custom O&M projects require a technical study. The PDC prime structures their own team, whether by using staff or subcontractor personnel. Energy Trust is interested in proposals that will help us meet the goals outlined in the RFP and continue to serve customers with excellent customer service. Energy Trust has a continued interest in expanding awareness and knowledge of SEM throughout Oregon, and is interested in having more than one SEM provider in the program 3

4 personnel, whether in-house or subcontracted, to deliver both the SEM coaching and SEM technical model development services to Energy Trust for participant sites located in PDC s territory. This could be interpreted as saying that Energy Trust is open to either approach, where a traditional energy engineering firm may be the PDC prime, and then subcontract to an SEM subject matter expert. 1) Would Energy Trust please clarify the intent? 2) Does Energy Trust prefer one approach over the other? 19 Does Energy Trust intend to have PDCs bill Energy Trust for SEM costs; on a time and materials basis, or a percent completion of a fixed cost budget? 20 RFP budgets for SEM include fixed costs and variable costs per participant. How does Energy Trust intend to deal with over and under budget situations when the number of participants varies from the submitted budget? 21 Please confirm that the First Year SEM is cohort-based and the Continuous SEM is currently individual-customer based. 22 Can the SEM provider be separated into Coach and Modeler/Report Writer as two separate firms? 23 Can Energy Trust please provide a more detailed history of participation or at least participation in 2018 of First Year SEM participants by territory? Energy Trust anticipates that, with the program re-design, industrial program SEM services would be billed as time and materials, in alignment with Energy Trust commercial SEM services; however, this determination is subject to change. Respondents are responsible for budgeting for SEM savings, knowing there may be changes to the number of participants. PDCs will manage to their established not-to-exceed contract budget for managing and delivering their program services, including SEM services to participants. Energy Trust would not monitor SEM costs on a per-participant basis under the program re-design (see the answer to #19 above). First Year SEM is cohort-based but may be delivered on an individual-customer basis in special cases. Continuous SEM is currently delivered on an individual-customer basis but Energy Trust is interested in respondent ideas for integrating cohort elements into the Continuous SEM offering. Energy Trust requires that separate personnel fill the roles of PDC account manager, SEM provider and energy engineer/analyst. How these roles are staffed in the proposal is determined by the respondent. Energy Trust requires the respondent to meet the goals and qualifications outlined in the RFP, including but not limited to enhancing the customer experience. First Year engagements, from , by territory: - Territory 1: 13 - Territory 2: 24 - Territory 3: 28 4

5 24 First Year SEM is within territories but Continuous SEM is across territories. Can Energy Trust please provide an estimate of participants for each territory for Continuous SEM? 25 In the new model, which party (Energy Trust or PDC) has the decision about investing in an SEM engagement? Or an ATAC study? 26 Will PDC be responsible for entering customer/project information into CRM and Project Tracker? 27 Please provide examples of market intelligence that are captured in CRM? 28 Does processing incentive payments include cutting checks by the PDC for the customer incentive payments? 29 Does the Vendor Incentive Funding payment process shift to the PDCs in the new design? 30 As part of program enhancements and capital upgrades, will Energy Trust consider a program that includes the option to upgrade backup generators for customers to ensure they are compliant with federal, state and local requirements? 31 Where do the Program Enhancements fall in the proposal scoring table (Section 6.3) or are they excluded from scoring impact? 32 Confirm that the same person can fill more than one role (e.g. account manager, SEM provider, energy analyst) as long as it is not for the same customer. Currently there are 32 active Continuous SEM engagements: - Territory 1: 7 - Territory 2: 16 - Territory 3: 9 PDCs will propose SEM participants to meet SEM savings goals and Energy Trust will have final approval of participant eligibility for SEM enrollment. See Appendix L for more information. For technical studies, the PDC will propose which projects warrant technical study. Energy Trust will have final approval of proposals for technical studies. Yes. See section 4.5 for more details. Examples include; vertical market type, site contacts and project history. The PDC will be responsible for project processing, entering all data and information into the Energy Trust system of record. Energy Trust will approve payment, issue checks and mail checks to the participant. PDCs also have the option to hand deliver checks to a participant; subject to security requirements. The Vendor Incentive Funding (VIF) is a vendor offering that is managed by Energy Trust, and should not be considered in the RFP saving targets or budgets. Respondents can submit all potential program enhancements and assumptions according to section 4.6 (Task 5: Program Enhancements). Program enhancements that reduce costs, increase savings, broaden participation or address market challenges could improve a respondent s score under strength of proposal. Yes, as long as the respondent can demonstrate adequate levels of checks and balances between the different roles to ensure strong delivery of SEM and customer service. Proposals should allow for the application of consistent, effective quality control procedures, while also maintaining effective communications and management. 5

6 33 Can respondents include Energy Trust Industrial program staff as a reference per Section of the RFP? 34 What is the definition of a significant role/key partner in regard to the requirement of submitting Financial documents submissions? E.g. Do we include financial documents for the ATAC/SEM subcontractors in our pool? 35 Is the Appendix D Excel spreadsheet excluded from the page limit in the Price Proposal? 36 Would you like to see one technical study in an Appendix mentioned on page 21 or one technical study for each of the typical systems found in an industrial facility mentioned on Appendix F? 37 Pricing will hinge on key assumptions around the number of SEM Engagements and Technical Analysis Studies conducted. Appendix I states that the PDC portion of the budget will be billed T&M, not to exceed. Can Energy Trust clarify the contract and billing mechanism for the SEM and ATAC portions of the contract and how variations in SEM participants and TAS quantities will be handled? If we have more or less SEM participants or studies required, will the budget scale accordingly? No. Energy Trust is seeking references from other persons/companies familiar with respondent s work performing services similar to those described in the RFP. Please note that Energy Trust additionally asks that respondents include a brief description of the specific services the respondent provided for each reference listed and how those services relate to work that the respondent is proposing to perform. Respondents may also include additional references knowledgeable of proposed team member services. The respondent is responsible for determining whether an identified subcontractor team member would perform a significant role in their proposal for program implementation and handling of program funds, and would likely be considered a key partner. If so, then respondent must provide the financial information as required under section of the RFP. Energy Trust reserves the right to ask for additional financial information for any respondent subcontractor after proposal submission. Yes. This will not count against page limit. Energy Trust requires the respondent to submit Appendix D as an Excel file when submitting an electronic version of the response. One technical study only. Respondents must budget for technical studies and SEM activities needed to hit energy savings goals. The PDC will be required to manage to its budget amounts for delivering the services to participants and achieving goals regardless of billing structure. 6

7 38 In the pricing template, is Energy Trust expecting staff level detail for each task? For example, tabs 4-6 have 24 tasks. If on average, five people will be working on each task, does Energy Trust expect to see over 100 rows in these tabs or should we limit our response to one row per task with a blended labor rate of the staff assigned? 39 Can Energy Trust please provide the quantity of estimated pipeline projects and savings for natural gas and electricity in all three territories? 40 In Appendix G, page 20, Figure 19: Can you clarify what is in the numerator and denominator for custom study service incentives? Does it include mega-projects? Does the denominator include the identified savings from all studies or only the savings from measures that were implemented? 41 In Appendix G, page 11, Figure 8: The average custom track project size has been trending down and was about 320,000 kwh in Are the figures shown in that trend graph inclusive of the occasional mega-project? 42 In Appendix G, page 19, Figure 16: We are assuming that the cost presented in this graph include both custom track and standard track delivery, but do not include SEM services or custom study costs (i.e., service incentives) in the numerator. Is that correct? 43 In the Appendix D-Pricing spreadsheet, there are three tabs for providing pricing by territory. All activities presently have one row, providing room for one name, rate, and hours. Can we add rows to the spreadsheet if we have activities that we anticipate serving with multiple people at different rates and hours? Or should we use the one row with weighted averages? Energy Trust requires the respondent to separate each individual staff member by task. The subtotal field under each task will develop a weighted average rate by task automatically. Please include all relevant subtasks under each task. Please review the RFP savings targets for 2019, and Appendix G for more information on overall gas savings and historical savings acquisition for the Production Efficiency program. Figure 19 is only technical studies for custom projects; this rate excludes SEM. Megaprojects are also excluded. The savings are not tied to studies but to the savings acquired in the annual year. Megaprojects are excluded. Correct. Yes. The respondent may add rows to spreadsheets. 7