STATE OF CALIFORNIA GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor

PUBLIC UTILTIES COMMISSION

505 VAN NESS AVENUE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Request for Proposal (RFP) – Secondary Number 25NC0488

For:

Energy Efficiency Savings Measurement, Estimation, Program Oversight, and Evaluation of the

Group E Sectors: Industries and Market Studies and the Potential and Goals Study

February 27, 2026

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) invites you to review and respond to this Solicitation. In submitting your response, you must comply with the instructions found herein.

This is an open solicitation for all private entities, universities or governmental agencies.

This contract covers two research areas: Potential and Goals and Industry and Market Studies.

The Potential and Goals portion of this contract will cover all research needs to support forecasting activities to determine energy savings potential available to inform the CPUC’s decision to set goals for Program Administrators. This is a dynamic research area influenced by developments in the

Integrated Resources Planning (IRP)1 and the Distributed Energy Resources Cost Effectiveness2 proceedings, as well as developments led by legislation such as SB350 and AB 802.

For the Industry and Market Studies portion of this Contract, this Contract covers a variety of research needs with the objective of improving knowledge of energy efficiency market dynamics, barriers and opportunities to improve program design and targeting.

Before submitting a response to this solicitation, interested parties should read and review the entire solicitation including any attachments, all referenced web addresses, and any regulations, orders, and statutes cited.

Note that all agreements entered into with the State of California will include by reference General Terms and Conditions (GTC 02/2025) and Contractor Certification Clauses (CCC 4/2017) that may be viewed and downloaded at the following internet site:

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List- Folder/Standard-Contract-Language.

If you do not have Internet access, a hard copy can be provided by contacting the point of contact listed below. By submitting a proposal your firm agrees to the terms and conditions stated in this RFP and the proposed contract.

Any questions regarding the solicitation or terms and conditions of the proposed contract must be submitted by the deadline listed in the key action dates. Terms and conditions will not be negotiated after contract award.

1 R.25-06-019- Proceeding Details 2 R.22-11-013 - Proceeding Details https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/apex/f?p=401:56::::RP,57,RIR:P5_PROCEEDING_SELECT:R2506019 https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/apex/f?p=401:56::::RP,57,RIR:P5_PROCEEDING_SELECT:R2211013

California Public Utilities Commission RFP Number 25NC0488

Responses are due April 27, 2026 by 10:00 Pacific Time.

Total proposal cost must not exceed $6,000,000.00 Proposals exceding this amount will be automatically disqualified.

CPUC Point of Contact:

Trisha Duchaine

Trisha.Duchaine@cpuc.ca.gov

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND CONTRACT TERMS

EXHIBIT A – SCOPE OF WORK

EXHIBIT B – BUDGET DETAIL AND PAYMENT PROVISIONS

EXHIBIT C – GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS (GTC 04/2017)

EXHIBIT D – SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

3. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

5. PREFERENCE AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND PROCESS

7. AWARD AND CONTRACT EXECUTION

8. REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT 1 – SOLICITATION CHECKLIST

ATTACHMENT 2 – CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

ATTACHMENT 3 – REFERENCES SHEET

ATTACHMENT 4 – PAYEE DATA RECORD

ATTACHMENT 5 – PAYEE DATA RECORD SUPPLEMENT

ATTACHMENT 6 – CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION CLAUSES

ATTACHMENT 7 – DARFUR CONTRACTING ACT FORM

ATTACHMENT 8 – BIDDER DECLARATION FORM

ATTACHMENT 9 – DVBE DECLARATION FORM

ATTACHMENT 10 – COMMERCIALLY USEFUL FUNCTION CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT 11 – IRAN CONTRACTING ACT FORM

ATTACHMENT 12 – CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS LAW CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT 13 – COST SHEET

ATTACHMENT 14 – EVALUATION AND SCORING CRITERIA

ATTACHMENT 15 – SAMPLE STANDARD AGREEMENT

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND CONTRACT TERMS

EXHIBIT A – SCOPE OF WORK

1. Introduction

The California Public Utilities Commission (hereinafter referred to as the CPUC) regulates services and utilities, projects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. The essential services regulated include electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies.

On a biennial basis, the CPUC updates 10-year forward energy savings goals to be achieved through Energy Efficiency (EE) programs implemented by CA EE Program Administrators

(PAs), including investor-owned utilities (IOUs). The most recent EE Goals were adopted by

CPUC Decision D. 25-08-034.

Concurrently, CPUC authorizes EE budgets and programs to be implemented by EE PAs in order to achieve the EE Goals in a cost-effective manner. The most recent business plans were authorized for 2024-2031 through CPUC Decision D. 23-06-055.

The funding will pay for a portfolio of programs that are expected to realize significant energy efficiency savings and greenhouse gas reductions and make progress toward accomplishing the legislative mandates established in the California Public Utilities Code Sections 455.5 and 381.2.

In order to ensure the long-term success of these dynamic energy efficiency portfolios, the

CPUC is committed to an integrated program of forecasted energy savings measurements, estimations, and impact evaluation activities to forecast, track, and measure energy savings resulting from the various program initiatives undertaken by Energy Efficiency Program

Administrators in California, including the investor-owned utilities.

The main drivers of the scope and timing of work required for energy savings measurement, estimation and evaluation activities include state energy efficiency strategic plans, legislative mandates and CPUC decisions and legislative mandates.

The Existing Buildings Energy Efficiency Action Plan (CEC, 2019) charts the overall policy vision for energy efficiency and align with legislative mandates. In relevance to this Solicitation, the common underlying goal of the strategic plans, legislative mandates and CPUC decisions is to accelerate and scale the adoption of energy efficiency as a reliable resource with high assurance coming from ratepayer funded energy efficiency programs. The CPUC continues to strive to improve the accuracy, speed and cost-effectiveness of the ratepayer funded program evaluation process. This Solicitation invites submittal of innovative proposals that will meaningfully refresh and/or replace elements of the status quo while maintaining enough continuity that a smooth transition to new processes is ensured.

For example, recent legislative mandates, including but not limited to Assembly Bill (AB) 802

(Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) and Senate Bill 350 (De’ Leon, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015), will bring substantial changes to the CPUC’s savings measurement, estimation and evaluation methods over the next several years.

Additionally, the schedule of the necessary savings estimation and evaluation activities is adopted in D. 21-05-031, establishing modifications of the portfolio approval and oversight process, and shown in Figure 1, below. Note that firm deadlines, referred to in the decision and this

Solicitation as bus stops, are adopted for Evaluation, Measure, and Verification (EM&V) studies, DEER updates, and Goals updates.

Figure 1.A

Rolling Portfolio Cycle Schedule

CPUC D.09-09-047, 11-07-030, 12-05-015, as well as a November 18, 2009, Ruling in A.08- 07- 021 and more recently D. 21-05-031 and Resolution E-5152, set forth processes for determining and freezing energy savings values that are used for planning, estimating savings claims, and program tracking. The values are considered either deemed (i.e., typical) or custom (i.e., site specific) and are currently housed in DEER, or custom project documentation. Several decisions and resolutions set the rules and requirements for determining ex- ante and ex-post values for both deemed and custom measures and projects which the Contractor will have to observe when carrying out work under this contract..3

At the CPUC, estimated energy savings values are utilized for:

A. Developing the energy efficiency potential and goals that feed into the California Energy

CPUC’s (CEC) demand forecast and inform the Integrated Energy Policy Reports.4

B. Forecasting anticipated energy impacts at the measure, program, and portfolio level prior to implementation, as well as optimizing implementation strategies.

C. Calculating program- and portfolio-level cost-effectiveness for tracking and approval purposes.

3 DEER resolutions: E-5152, E-5082, E-5009, E-4952, E-4867. CPR resolutions: E4818, E5115. All are available in the bidder library.

4 Reports available on the CEC’s website: Integrated Energy Policy Report - IEPR | California Energy Commission

Reporting and tracking program accomplishments during implementation. Further, in D.09-09- 047, the CPUC adopted policy goals for EM&V to support its objectives and guide the work of the

CPUC’s Energy Division (ED) and the PAs. In addition to the overarching goal of ensuring that program influence is accurately distinguished from naturally occurring market adoption, these goals and core objectives continue to guide the ED’s EM&V work:

“EM&V activities shall be planned and implemented to achieve the following core objectives in order to support the CPUC’s oversight function of ensuring the efficient and effective expenditure of ratepayer funds within the energy efficiency portfolios. All activities should be undertaken to meet the overarching goals of clarity, consistency, cost-efficiency, and timeliness”.

The core objectives are:

I. Savings Estimation, Measurement and Verification – Estimation, measurement and verification of savings resulting from energy efficiency measures, programs, and portfolios serve the fundamental purpose of developing estimates of reliable load impacts delivered through ratepayer-funded efficiency efforts. Measurement and verification work should reflect a reasonable balance of accuracy and precision, cost, and certainty, and be designed for incorporation into procurement planning activities.

II. Program Evaluation – Evaluation of program-specific qualitative and quantitative measures, such as the program performance metrics and process evaluations, serves a key role in providing feedback for the purposes of improving performance and supporting forward-looking corrections to utility programs and portfolios. In order to maximize return on ratepayer dollars, program evaluations must be completed on a timeline, which informs mid-course corrections and/or program planning for the following cycle.

III. Market Assessment – In a constantly evolving environment, market assessments are an essential EM&V product needed to set the baseline for strategic design and improvement of programs and portfolios. Saturation studies, surveys of emerging technologies and other such analyses which inform estimates of remaining program potential and forward-looking goal setting are key aspects of market assessment.

IV. Policy and Planning Support – Consistent with prior program cycles, it is essential to reserve funding to support overarching studies and advisory roles which support CPUC policy goals. Over the last program cycle, this has been inclusive of potential and goals studies, maintenance of DEER database, developing databases of best practices for program design and delivery, program design mix, and other means which support the CPUC’s oversight role, but does not fall under the core EM&V categories described above.

V. Financial and Management Audit – Supporting the CPUC’s oversight function of ensuring the efficient and effective expenditures of ratepayer funds within the utilities’ energy efficiency portfolios is another objective of EM&V activities. Rigorous financial and management audits overseen by CPUC staff will be critical in ensuring that the utilities’ general and administrative costs and other program expenditures are prudent and reasonable.

Note: Although the CPUC has adopted core objectives and policy processes, the policy context driving the energy efficiency portfolios is subject to change substantially as the State works to achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals. It is responsibility of the Contractor to follow these rules and keep up to date with changes and updates.

Areas not included in this Contract that may be the subject of other contracts include: Emerging

Technologies; Market Education and Outreach; Workforce Education and Training; Energy

Efficiency Finance; Zero Net Energy; Codes and Standards; Local Government Programs; Regional

Energy Networks; Community Choice Aggregators; Ex ante and impact evaluations for Custom approaches; an updated DEER or an equivalent new database; IT-related services such as data hosting and server maintenance; and other exploratory work necessary for portfolio transitions in response to legislative mandates and CPUC Decisions.

2. Contractor Responsibilities

The Prime Contractor may support administrative and technical execution of the market studies covered under the 2025 Energy Division and Program Administrator Energy Efficiency Evaluation, Measurement and Verification Plan (EM&V Plan)5 In addition, this Contract covers the Potential and Goals study and related activities for long-term demand forecast updates for years 2027 with possible extension for 2029.

For this Contract, the research areas are divided according to the general utility customer classification segmentations of the Group E Sectors: Industries and Market Studies; Potential and Goals research concepts in the 2025 EM&V Plan 6. The Prime Contractor is responsible for the timely completion of work products, to meet the bus stop deadlines and schedule of the Rolling Portfolio Cycle, adopted in D. 21-05-031 and shown in the Scope of Work. The CPUC’s Energy Division (ED) will assign Project Managers (hereby referred to as EDPM) to manage each sector and market area and serve as a point of contact for specific projects.

The Contractor’s team shall primarily focus on energy savings potential assessment for electricity and natural gas technologies in the IOU territory as well as market studies to assess 2.

market dynamics to plan program design and implementation. The awarded contractor will develop Research and Evaluation Plans for each area as described in the Scope of Work.

The Contractor should identify in their proposals their approaches to address the following areas:

1) The Proposer’s approach to determination of future energy savings potential reasonably expected to occur and related analyses.

2) Provide examples of, or otherwise identify, tools and methodologies that the Contractor is familiar with that could potentially be used for addressing the research needs of this RFP.

In addition, the Prime Contractor shall serve as the primary point of contact to coordinate with each Prime Contractor for other energy efficiency evaluation contract groups the CPUC may choose to undertake within the study period in order to collaboratively update estimated energy

5 Available at: https://pda.energydataweb.com/#!/documents/4100/view 6 https://pda.energydataweb.com/#!/documents/4100/view savings values; plan, execute, and oversee EM&V studies; and engage with stakeholders in public meetings and workshops to effectively communicate both the content and impacts of the work outlined in this Contract.

The Contractor is responsible for the following:

a. Entering into contractual agreements with subcontractors, as needed, to perform all or part of the work described in each deliverable;

b. Acquiring data needed to perform the deliverable from program administrators, implementers, and/or other sources, including coordinating with subcontractors using the same data or sample or producing the data as an interim output;

c. Coordinating and managing each project team, including:

i. Assigning activities to subcontractors and internal staff;

ii. Monitoring project schedules and ensuring assigned work is being completed as expected;

iii. Reviewing the work product of internal staff and subcontractors to ensure conformance with the deliverable specifications;

iv. Reviewing all subcontractor invoices to ensure that they are accurate and reasonable and preparing aggregated invoices for the EDPM;

d. Maintaining lines of communication with the EDPM throughout the course of the implementation in accordance with the standards specified by the EDPM;

e. Finalizing work products in accordance with the work plan and to the satisfaction of the Commission Project management including:

i. Preparing interim or final written reports and summaries;

ii. Fulfilling all internal and external vetting and review processes and responding to comments and corrections for the final product;

iii. Submitting data sets as prescribed by Commission staff; and

iv. Presenting findings as needed.

No work shall be performed under the Prime Contract without prior approval by the assigned Energy Division Project Manager. Due dates may be changed at the discretion of the EDPM or the Commission. This Contract shall be initiated with the finalization of an Administration and Project Management work plan and the research work plans (Deliverable 1), that will guide the on-going administrative requirements of the contract. To support the rolling portfolio cycle, other Commission led processes and California Energy Commission (CEC) led processes that depend on the work products of this contract, the Contractor must complete work products to meet the bus stops and other Commission and California Energy Commission (CEC) set deadlines. This shall require integrated project management and coordination between the various Commission led work products and CEC led work products.

Evaluation Report Requirements

For each of the Deliverables that requires a study and report component, the Contractor must complete both an individual draft and final evaluation reports, along with any evaluation data and parameter updates, with sufficient review time (see a summary of the review process below) to publish by the deliverable indicated due dates. Evaluation reports must clearly and thoroughly address each of the objectives, in the manner defined in the approved Research Sector Work Plans.

To successfully do so, the Final Evaluation Report must clearly answer each of the key research questions as identified in Deliverable 01: Research Plans and Updates. Any draft and final documents shall be submitted to the Commission for review and provide final edits and directions before finalizing and publishing the report.

All evaluation studies must be conducted in accordance with the California Energy Efficiency Evaluation Protocol.7

Draft reports shall be complete versions of the final reports and should not require substantial editing. Both the draft and the final evaluation report will include the following components:

1) Title Page: A single page on which the title and author(s) of the report are clearly presented, along with the date of publication, either the word “Draft” or “Final” as appropriate, and any additional textual or graphical elements the Contractor chooses to include. The title should be concise but must convey the subject matter of the study.

2) Contacts Page: A single page after the title page which presents the names, affiliations, and contact information for all key individuals associated with the study.

3) Table of Contents: A listing of sections of the report, and the numbers of the pages on which the sections begin.

4) Executive Summary: A brief, easily understandable document, written in plain language for a non-technical audience, e.g., policy makers and members of the public, to quickly understand the design, execution, and results of the study, written according to the Executive Summary writing guide.8 Executive Summaries should be approximately 10% of the length, by page count, of the entire report.

5) Approach and Methodology: A written explanation of the Contractor’s study methodology must be included in each evaluation report and shall include sufficient detail to allow industry peers to replicate the Contractor’s sampling, collection, and calculations independently.

6) Data Source: A fully detailed document of data sources used in this report.

7) Findings and Recommendations: The contractor is responsible for developing recommendations to improve the energy efficiency programs in each Research Sector, as per the objectives of the research.

8) Submission of electronic PDF format document: Upon Contractor submission, the PDF shall be in a format that is ready to be uploaded by Commission Staff to the Commission’s website for public consumption of the final graphic design and layout of the evaluation. This may include references to electronic dynamic appendices or models which should also be made available to public consumption in the Commission’s website.

9) Table of Comments: A table of comments including the commenting party, the channel through which the comment was received, and the text of each comment, along with a description of how the Contractor addressed the comment or a rationale for taking no action.

10) Submission of a print-ready format document: The Contractor shall submit to the Commission a digital copy of the final graphic design and layout of the final report document in a standard format that the Commission can readily submit to a printing entity for mass printing.

7 “California Energy Evaluation Protocols: Technical, Methodological, and Reporting Requirements for Evaluation Professionals.”.

8 “A Guide to Writing an Effective Executive Summary.” Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, Environmental Programs.

Furthermore, draft and final reports shall incorporate the following critical elements:

1) Readability: The executive summary shall be written in a way that is understandable to a non-technical audience, avoiding industry jargon, advanced concepts, and all acronyms specific to the energy or energy efficiency industries. The entire report shall also be well-written employing clear language, and a formal, objective tone.

2) Copy-editing: The draft and final report must be copy-edited by a professional copy-editor. The contractor must provide a résumé of the copy-editor to the Commission and obtain approval before finalizing the reports. Draft and final reports should be well-written, logically organized, free of typos and grammatical errors, and cleanly formatted; Commission Staff may request rewriting or further editing at its discretion.

3) Review process: All reports are subject to a review and comment process agreed upon between the Contractor and Commission Staff. This review process may include the following types of reviews, which may occur in any order or concurrently:

a. Peer review—At the discretion of the Commission, specific study reports will undergo a peer review process prior to finalization. The peer review process must meet current industry standards, and the peer review panel must be selected or approved by the Commission.

b. Stakeholder review—All reports shall be distributed in draft among parties identified as stakeholders in the report subject matter. Stakeholders may include, but are not limited to: program administrators, contractors, evaluators, individual customers.

c. Public review—At the discretion of Commission Staff, draft reports shall be made available to the public, and comments shall be accepted for a period of not less than ten calendar days. The contract shall consider each public comment and address them as deemed appropriate.

d. Energy Division Management Approval Process—The contractor shall allow for up to two weeks of review by Energy Division Management.

Energy Division Management Approval is required prior to releasing any version of an evaluation report to the public.

4) Graphic Design: The draft shall be formatted in a professional manner with an effective design that meets or exceeds typical standards for high level public reports.

The design should convey that the Contractor is responsible for the content, and no Commission-branded material (e.g., the Seal of the Commission or the CPUC logo) shall appear throughout the document in such a way as to suggest that the Commission or Commission Staff wrote the report or conducted the study.

Reports will be presented at a stakeholder or public workshop, or an executive briefing, as described under Tasks 4 & 5, as necessary. Each briefing shall be approximately one (1) hour long, and the Contractor must record and respond to each comment received from the stakeholders and/or executives by making changes in the report or addressing the specific comments in a summary report. Upon approval by CPUC staff on the final reports, the formatted Final reports will incorporate all edits from the previous drafts and will be submitted to the CPUC within one (1) month of receiving feedback from the CPUC.

3. Tasks and Deliverables

The Contractor is responsible for defining the specific details of their approach and providing how they would uniquely fulfill the requirements of each task when indicated as “Narrative Required” below.

Task 1: Research Sector Work Plans and Updates (Narrative Required)

The Contractor must develop a Research Sector Plan for each research area describing the methodology and approach the Contractor will take to complete all subsequent Deliverables and studies for each area addressed under this agreement. The research areas are as follows:

1) Potential and Goals Study

2) Industry and Market Studies

Each Research Area Work Plan includes:

1) The Contractor’s approach and methodology for each specific Deliverable, and how the approach is statistically valid;

2) A list of major activities, tasks and sub-tasks, and milestones for each Deliverable;

3) A timeline for completion of each task and a schedule for both one-time and recurring activities;

4) A list of resources and personnel necessary for each Deliverable;

5) The relevant skills and experience of key personnel who will work on each Deliverable;

and

6) A detailed budget for each Deliverable with estimates broken down by task and activity.

Activities in the Research Sector Work Plan must include the following:

1) Gather data and verify the accuracy of data and data sources;

2) Describe modeling tools;

3) Engage stakeholders;

4) Engage the California Energy Commission staff and consultants for CEC led deliverables;

5) Engage other Commission staff and consultants for collaborative deliverables;

6) Evaluate, choose, and implement tools and methods;

7) Identify the skills needed on a team to perform the work;

8) Manage the project and communication with Commission Staff;

9) Coordinate with commission staff to obtain approval for all evaluation decisions made at the protocol level;

10) Describe potential barriers and opportunities to providing scheduled results;

11) Achieve a balance among:

a. Completeness of data;

b. Necessary methods;

c. Meaningful results;

d. Cost of reporting;

e. Collaboration with Commission Staff, CEC staff and contractors;

f. Stakeholder engagement and review; and

g. Disputes over the methods and/or results.

12) Update savings estimation and evaluation approaches in the Work Plan to address specific uncertainties, including:

a. Changing policy landscape;

b. Evolving methods and data needs;

c. Developments in other Commission led proceeding such as Integrated

Distributed Energy Resources (IDER), Distributed Resource Planning (DRP), Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) and how these developments may affect activities and priorities in Energy Efficiency;

d. Impact of using existing conditions baselines and the impact on program design, targeting, savings determination and forecasting; and

e. A plan for using the most-up-to-date data to inform savings forecasting.

The Contractor must submit each of the final drafts of the Research Sector Work Plans within thirty (30) days of Contract execution. The Contractor must work with CPUC staff to update/revise the Research Sector Work Plans annually, unless otherwise directed by the CPUC Contract Manager or his/her designee(s), to ensure alignment with Energy Division’s EM&V Plan and CPUC priorities.9 The Research Sector Work Plans must be revised annually unless otherwise directed by the CPUC Contract Manager.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 1:

1. Final Draft Research Sector Work Plan for the “Potential and Goals Study”

a. research area Due within thirty (30) days of Contract execution.

2. Final Draft Research Sector Work Plan for the “Industry and Market Studies”

a. research area Due within thirty (30) days of Contract execution.

3. Annual updates to both Research Sector Work Plans

Task 2a: Progress Reports and Updates

The Contractor shall be responsible for timely interim progress updates and reporting milestones as negotiated with the CPUC Contract Manager. All reports contained in this Task are separate from those defined in Task 2b. Required Progress Reports and updates shall include the following:

A. Monthly Progress Reports

The Prime Contractor shall provide monthly progress reports to the CPUC Contract Manager, CPUC staff and/or other entities at the discretion of the CPUC Contract Manager. Progress reports must include the following issue areas: contract compliance, deliverables progress and results, project management, project expenditure, work activities, progress, work product deliverables, or other information upon request. These reports shall be produced in a timely manner and must go through a quality control process before being submitted to the CPUC Contract Manager. It is the responsibility of the Contractor, not CPUC staff, to ensure accuracy and timeliness of the report.

B. Closeout Report

9 https://pda.energydataweb.com/#!/documents/4100/view

The Contractor shall provide the CPUC with, at least 1 month prior to the end of the Contract, a closeout report to summarize all activities, efforts, and findings throughout the contract. The report shall describe the plan and timeline to ramp down work and a plan to transition activities between contract phases. The Contractor shall maintain all project records for a period of three (3) years after the end of the contract.

a. Included in the submission of the report must be all the data, algorithms, and files used over the course of the contract, as well as a single, coherent, and comprehensive manual that explains what all the data is, identifies the files the data is in, and how the data and files were used over the course of the contract. All files must be transferred in a secure electronic format (such as SFTP) to the CPUC Contract Manager.

b. A draft version of the comprehensive manual and related file architecture must be provided to the CPUC not less than two (2) months before the conclusion of the contract, to the allow CPUC staff to review, ask clarifying questions and request necessary changes. The CPUC is responsible for requesting any changes to these materials no less than five (5) weeks prior to the conclusion of the contract. The Contractor is responsible for implementing those changes and submitting the final comprehensive manual and related files within one (1) week of the conclusion of the contract. If the final draft of the comprehensive manual and related files are not submitted within one (1) week of the conclusion of the contract the Contractor shall forfeit 10% of the retention portion of this deliverable each business day until the final draft is received by the CPUC. If the final draft of comprehensive manual and related files have significant errors or have not addressed the draft feedback provided by the CPUC, the Contractor will forfeit up to 50% of the retention portion of this deliverable.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 2a:

1. Monthly Progress Reports

2. Closeout Report

Task 2b: Scheduled Reports and Ad Hoc Reports (No Narrative Required)

The Contractor shall provide ad hoc or regularly scheduled contract and sub-task level management and budgetary reports and data to CPUC staff as requested by the appropriate CPUC Project Managers and utilizing tracking systems.

The Prime Contractor shall provide ad-hoc reports, regularly scheduled reports, and data sets to CPUC Contract Manager, CPUC Staff, and/or other entities at the discretion of the project manager that could include the following issue areas: contract compliance, deliverables progress and results, project management, project expenditure, work activities, progress, work product deliverables, or other information upon request. This task includes all reports in the scope of Group C unless a report is specified in other tasks in this Contract (ex: the monthly progress reports in Task 2a. are not counted here). These reports shall be produced in a timely manner and must go through a quality control process before being submitted to the CPUC Contract Manager.

In general, the reports in this task fall under one of the following categories. It is responsibility of the Contractor, not CPUC staff, to ensure accuracy and timeliness of reports. CPUC staff are responsible for clearly stating which category progress report requests fall under:

a. Scheduled Reports: These are progress reports that the Contractor is expected to produce on a regular schedule, as determined by the CPUC Contract Manager and the Contractor.

i. Number of Scheduled Reports each twelve (12) months not to exceed: 20 Reports

ii. Ad Hoc Reports: These are unanticipated reports that are required through the course of executing the deliverables in this SOW. An example of an Ad Hoc Report would be when CPUC management requests a report on data that is either not contained or that is more recent than the data in the Scheduled Reports.

1. High Priority: Reports in this category include responding to ad hoc CPUC management requests or other requests we cannot anticipate must be produced, checked, and delivered to the CPUC within forty-eight (48) hours of the request. If it is not possible for the Contractor to produce the report in that timeframe, the Contractor must inform the CPUC staff, and an alternative timeline must be approved by the CPUC staff.

a. Number of High Priority reports each twelve (12) months not to exceed: 10 Reports

2. Mid Priority: Reports in this category include responding to ad hoc CPUC management requests or other requests we cannot anticipate must be produced, checked, and delivered to the CPUC within four

(4) business days of the request. If it is not possible for the Contractor to produce the report in that timeframe, the Contractor must inform the CPUC staff, and an alternative timeline must be approved by the CPUC staff.

a. Number of Mid Priority reports each twelve (12) months not to exceed: 20 Reports

3. Low Priority: Reports in this category include responding to ad hoc CPUC management requests or other requests we cannot anticipate must be produced, checked, and delivered to the CPUC within ten

(10) business days of the request. If it is not possible for the Contractor to produce the report in that timeframe, the Contractor must inform the CPUC staff, and an alternative timeline must be approved by the CPUC staff.

a. Number of Low Priority reports each twelve (12) months not to exceed: 10 Reports

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 2b:

1. Scheduled Reports

2. Ad Hoc Report

Task 3: Kickoff Meeting

Upon execution of the contract, an in-person kickoff meeting will be convened for CPUC staff and the Contractor’s Team to discuss and refine the submitted Work Plans and future proposed Work

Plans, orient the Contractor’s Team to the administrative and technical expectations of the CPUC Contract Manager and/or Project Managers, and initiate discussion of prioritization of tasks. The Contractor will also work with the CPUC Contract Manager to establish the project management processes for the contract. Activities include:

A. Meeting with the CPUC Contract Manager and Project Managers to affirm expectations, communication protocols, objectives for the contract, and the proposed approach/methodology to complete the Contract.

B. Coordinating with the Prime Contractors on other energy efficiency contracts the CPUC may undertake to complete any related deliverables, as necessary and with approval from the CPUC Contract Manager.

C. The Contractor shall prepare a meeting agenda, a PowerPoint presentation and provide meeting notes after the meeting.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 3:

1. Kick Off Meeting

Task 4: Coordination Meetings with CPUC Staff (No Narrative Required)

The Contractor will coordinate and attend project coordination group meetings with CPUC staff, CEC Staff, program administrators, program implementers, other CPUC contractors, and other parties on an ad hoc basis or regular schedule:

A. Up to sixty (60) meetings during each year of the contract period with CPUC staff to included, but not limited to; updating staff on progress of work, answering questions, and receiving directions on work and next steps.

B. Up to fifteen (15) meetings per year with CPUC staff and outside agency/stakeholder staff covering all the necessary deliverables and working groups related to each research stage and deliverable, and;

C. Up to one meeting per month per study, twelve (12) meetings per year, as directed by each research sector’s Project Manager.

The purpose of these meetings is to provide a venue to discuss the status of sub-tasks across the research sectors with CPUC staff and stakeholders; discuss and vet methodological or data issues;

strategize for coordination between Prime Contractors as needed; resolve administrative and reporting matters concerning the contract, and coordinate research activities with the program administrators’ staff

For each meeting the Contractor shall produce and share agenda prior to meeting, produce presentations and/or other meeting materials prior to meeting and provide notes post meeting.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 4:

1. Host up to 348 meetings during the contract term, virtually.

Task 5: Stakeholder Workshops and Webinars (No Narrative Required)

The Contractor will participate in up to twenty-five (25) public stakeholder engagement activities per year of the contract at which they must be able to explain their methods, approaches and results to an audience of both technical and nontechnical individuals. These meetings should also identify opportunities to solicit formal or informal comments or input in research needs. Public engagements vary in length and complexity from day long in-person meetings with varying attendance to short webinars. Expected tasks and activities to complete this deliverable include:

A. Presenting at public meetings and workshops, including quarterly EM&V stakeholder meetings, in person at the CPUC in San Francisco and via webinar;

B. Addressing issues that members of the public raise at the stakeholder workshops with specific documentation of how each comment from the Stakeholder Workshop has been considered or addressed;

C. Managing written and oral communication, including public briefing materials, summarizing work products to decision-makers and stakeholders, as requested by CPUC staff;

D. Conducting stakeholder workshops and webinars to solicit feedback from stakeholders.

The stakeholder workshops dates are to be determined upon contract execution.

E. Conducting technical working group meetings to solicit feedback or input in research needs. This may include addressing different technical working groups;

F. Explaining ongoing studies and upcoming reports, and results and findings upon study completion. At least two key Contractor team members will be required to participate in each stakeholder engagement activity. Upon completion of the workshops, the Contractor will provide a summary of the data and information gathered.

The Contractor shall provide stakeholder engagement and/or hosting services at each event, produce and share an agenda for each event and provide power point presentations or other meeting materials for each event.

The Contractor shall also provide meeting notes for each event after the meeting which will include recording and organizing stakeholder written and verbal comments from each event.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 5:

1. Provide stakeholder engagement and/or hosting services at each engagement

a. Fifteen (15) engagements per year up to two (2) hours in length, primarily virtual

b. Five (5) engagements per year from two (2) to four (4) hours in length

c. Five (5) engagements per year from four (4) hours to a full day in length

2. Record, organize, and respond to stakeholder written and verbal feedback following up to each engagement

Task 6a: Gaps and Emerging Issues Report (Narrative Required)

The Contractor shall work with the CPUC Contract Manager to identify the gaps and emerging issues that will be addressed in each report. The Contractor must submit at least two (2) draft Gaps and Emerging Issues Reports; the first by October 15, 2026, the second by October 15, 2027. CPUC staff will provide feedback on the drafts no more than two weeks after receipt. The Contractor must sufficiently address CPUC feedback and submit at least two (2) final Gaps and Emerging Issues Reports; the first by November 15, 2027, the second by November 15, 2029. These reports must summarize the issues, implications, and possible approaches to address identified emerging or current gaps in the scope of the planned program evaluation activities for that year, and other emerging issues for the sector. The reports shall provide documentation of detailed technical analysis results that could assist the CPUC in decision-making on future research. The reports shall include the following components:

A. Summary of emerging issues including details regarding the origins of, and potential implications from emerging issues; and

B. Gaps and significant changes in current methodology in addition to the uncertain list for the associated year.

C. Gaps in sector-specific energy efficiency participation (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc.), which may look at multiple year trends.

In describing the approach, the Contractor shall detail logical and effective methods to capture the full scope of any gaps and emerging issues. Additionally, the Contractor’s proposal submission must demonstrate their understanding of current trends in the industry and must not provide any study recommendations in order to prevent violating potential follow-on contracting issues for future studies. Activities reflected in the approach will include the following:

A. Conduct literature review on Program Administrators’ Energy Efficiency Business Plans, Program Administrators’ and third-party program implementers’ program implementation plans, CPUC decisions, independent IOU-led studies, utility work papers, legislation, trade journals, finance and marketing studies from the CPUC’s other Energy Efficiency efforts, and other related literature that could contribute to the knowledge of current gaps and emerging issues;

B. Conduct interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SME) and industry experts to obtain information and details on the potential gaps and emerging issues; and

C. Coordinate with CPUC staff on Deliverable progress.

D. Identification of existing data sources to help inform evaluation needs as well as primary data via data requests with the aid of the CPUC Contract Manager or SME. Upon completion of the report, the Contractor may assist CPUC staff in updating relevant sections of the EM&V Plan, which details the key questions, general methodologies for Group E sectors, and evaluation method. Findings from the Gaps and Emerging Issues Report will be incorporated in the Contractor’s updates to the Research Sector Work Plans in Task 1.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 6a:

1. Initial draft report (due 10/15/2026)

2. Second draft report (due 10/15/2027)

3. First final report (due 11/15/2027)

4. Second final report (due 11/15/2029)

Task 6b: For Industry and Market Studies Only

The Contractor will work with CPUC staff and contractors in sector-specific analysis to identify gaps and emerging issues and help prioritize research to be conducted annually based on needs and available resources to be included in the relevant EM&V Plan sector chapters.

In a constantly evolving environment, market assessments are an essential EM&V product needed to set the baseline for strategic design and improvement of programs and portfolios, identify and track appropriate metrics of market change, and measure progress toward achieving the goals of the California Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. Industry and Market Studies can be focused at a specific market or technology or portfolio wide assessment. The need for Industry and Market Studies may be defined annually as part of the EM&V Plan according to prioritization so only a certain number of such studies may be initiated each year. In addition, these studies may vary in length and complexity.

The Contractor shall conduct up to ten (10) studies over the four-year base contract period following the corresponding approach given in the Contractor’s Proposal.

Market studies will be scoped based on the needs of each sector or program area listed in the EM&V Plan chapters:

1. Residential

2. Commercial (Small/Medium, Institutional Partnerships

3. Industrial /Agriculture/Large Commercial, Non-residential New Construction

4. Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC)

5. Local Government Partnerships

6. Regional Energy Networks and Community Choice Aggregators

7. Lighting

8. Integrated Demand-Side Management

9. Codes and Standards

10. Zero Net Energy/New Construction

11. Emerging Technologies Program

12. Finance

13. Marketing, Education and Outreach

14. Workforce Education and Training

The Contractor shall conduct studies with the exact number, types, and research areas decided by the CPUC Contract Manager as part of this task.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 6b:

1. 10 Industry and Market Study Draft Reports

2. 10 Industry and Market Study Final Reports

Task 7: Data Collection, Transmission, and Storage Plan

The Contractor must prepare a plan which clearly describes the approach and timeline for data collection throughout the life of the contract to meet deliverables specific needs. The Contractor is expected to:

A. When applicable, follow a stratified sampling methodology dictated by the available data, and other protocols determined by the Commission;

B. Review tracking data for all programs and measure in their respective sectors;

C. Review any new programs or measures in their respective sectors that may require additional data collection;

D. Review the Business Plan Metrics and determine if additional data collection is needed;

E. When applicable, ensure collected data conforms to the formatting requirements developed by the data contractors;

F. Review Program Administrators’ savings and costs projections in portfolio and/or program applications;

G. Develop data collection forms/surveys and provide clear survey designs;

H. Ensure quality control of all data collected;

I. Provide training to field staff to ensure data is collected consistently and in compliance with the evaluation protocols and any other commission guidance;

J. Provide documentation and training to Commission Staff on the collection of data;

K. Develop sampling strategies that meets evaluation protocols requirements.

Upon completion of the data collection activities, the contractor shall provide the Commission with the following products under this Deliverable throughout the contract timeline:

A. When applicable, descriptive statistics of the data collected for each data collection period;

B. Data requests associated with evaluation studies;

C. Data collection forms and surveys;

D. Methodology on quality check and results of the quality check;

E. Training materials;

F. Documentation of all data sets and any calculations.

In addition, the Contractor must securely transmit all data collected, including all raw data, manipulated data, cleaned data, secondary spreadsheets, databases, source codes, underlying scripts, algorithms, and other project-defining creations used during any analysis to the Data Prime Contractor for long-term archiving in a format readily accessible to CPUC staff. In addition, the Contractor must securely retain copies of evaluation data for at least two calendar years following the end of the contract. The Contractor must take extra precautions to ensure any personally identifying information collected for any study is not released or compromised.

List of Expected Deliverables for Task 7:

1. Draft data collection, storage, and transmission plan

2. Final data collection, storage, and transmission plan

3. Descriptive statistics for each collection period

4. Data requests

5. Data collection forms and surveys

6. Quality check methodology and results

7. Training materials

8. Documentation of all data sets and calculations

9. All primary and secondary data collected

10. All primary and secondary data analysis and tools

Task 8a: Potential and Goals Energy Efficiency Adoption Simulation Model (Narrative Required)

The Contractor shall build a simulation modeling tool. Tool, in the context of this Task, means spreadsheet(s), “hand” calculation method(s) with procedure manual(s), or any automated method(s) used.