26PSX0074A Exhibit A.docx

State of Connecticut Contract# 26PSX0074A

EXHIBIT A

DESCRIPTION OF DELIVERABLES

DESCRIPTION OF DELIVERABLES:

a. Professional energy, telecommunications, and broadband consulting Services to assist the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”), in coordination with the Department of Administrative Services (“DAS”), in supporting the programs, policy development, market analyses, and regulatory activities of DEEP’s Bureau of Energy and Technology Policy (“BETP”). Services shall include advisory, analytical, and policy-based consulting on an as-needed basis. These Services are intended to support DEEP’s participation in regulatory proceedings and strategic initiatives. This Contract does not include detailed engineering design, stamped drawings, construction administration, inspection Services, legal Services, or implementation activities.

b. Upon award, the negotiated Deliverables will be incorporated as Exhibit A, Description of Deliverables.

c. Contractor may be required to:

i. Prepare written technical memoranda, application materials, reports, and presentations.

ii. Attend meetings (in-person or virtual) with Client Agency staff and/or stakeholders.

iii. Provide expert testimony, briefs, or other support in public proceedings.

iv. Deliver analyses, data sets, or models supporting conclusions and recommendations.

v. Respond to expedited requests for analysis or assistance within short time frames, as determined by Client Agency.

Deliverables will vary and will be more specifically defined in each subsequent SOW issued under this Contract.

d. No minimum amount of work or compensation is guaranteed.

e. This contract will be available for use by all Client Agencies.

SCOPE OF SERVICES:

The following consulting categories and related Deliverables are a general overview of the consulting support Services to be provided under the resultant Contract(s). Services may include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

f. Energy Market Analysis

i. Analyze wholesale and retail energy and capacity markets and related coordination with other required resources (electricity, natural gas, renewable energy, and related commodities).

ii. Analyze energy infrastructure (electricity, natural gas, and related commodities).

iii. Evaluate market trends, pricing, supply/demand forecasts, and policy impacts.

iv. Develop recommendations for procurement strategies and market participation.

g. Energy Procurement Support

i. Provide advisory Services related to energy procurements that are managed by DEEP, including a review of a request for proposal, a quantitative review of proposals and pricing structures, a determination of project viability, participation in meetings with stakeholders, and development of responses to bidder questions.

ii. Support the development of competitive energy procurement strategies for state agencies or DEEP programs.

h. Regulatory and Policy Support

i. Provide expert consulting in connection with DEEP’s participation in Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (“PURA”) dockets, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) proceedings, the Connecticut Siting Council, building code proceedings, or other regulatory or legislative processes.

ii. Prepare testimony, reports, or analytical support materials.

iii. Offer policy or technical expertise on energy, utility, and telecommunications issues such as grid modernization, energy or broadband infrastructure, energy or broadband affordability, grid utilization, decarbonization, or market reform.

iv. Offer technical support in the development of regulatory programs or approaches.

v. Provide rate case or other technical assistance on matters including, but not limited to, revenue requirements, rate design, and cost allocation.

vi. Provide technical support in investigating innovative approaches to energy regulation.

vii. Provide consulting and technical support for performance-based regulation and other methods of utility or program implementer compensation.

viii. Provide research support on best practices related to all of the above listed Deliverables.

i. Energy Efficiency, Electrification, Decarbonization, and Demand Management Consulting

i. Analyze energy products, fuels, technologies, or appliances including, but not limited to, use trends, pricing, supply/demand forecasts, and policy impacts.

ii. Analyze energy and capacity demand across building types, transportation types, demographic sectors, or other market segments.

iii. Advise on the design or evaluation of energy efficiency, weatherization, electrification, decarbonization, grid efficiency / load factor optimization, demand response, conservation, or weatherization barrier programs.

iv. Advise and provide analysis related to system efficiency / load utilization studies.

v. Advise and provide analysis on program or policy equity, including but not limited to impacts on energy affordability, low-income households, environmental justice communities, and renter utilization.

vi. Provide technical or economic analysis of program cost-effectiveness.

vii. Provide technical assistance in developing audit scopes for program implementers analyzing audit results or developing recommendations regarding those results.

viii. Review performance metrics or reporting methodologies.

ix. Advise on loan or grant program policy, design or development.

x. Provide evaluations including but not limited to non-participant, process, impact, and market evaluations to inform programs or policies.

xi. Provide engineering-based energy modeling to inform policies or programs.

xii. Analyze energy bill or rate impacts to inform policies or programs.

xiii. Analyze energy datasets, such as State agency utility bills for policy or programmatic insights.

xiv. Advise on new-to-market energy products.

xv. Provide user-interface testing and advise on energy-related software tools, including, but not limited to user behavior research.

j. Energy and Climate Planning

i. Provide consulting related to new energy resource development, renewable portfolio standards, clean or renewable energy programs, virtual power plant programs, or emissions reduction strategies.

ii. Provide Services related to methodologies and modeling, including, but not limited to modeling of greenhouse gas emissions, and reporting requirements for federal or state climate programs.

iii. Conduct policy or economic impact analyses for proposed initiatives.

iv. Conduct lifecycle greenhouse gas analyses to inform programs or policies.

v. Analyze embodied greenhouse gas trends and costs for products and / or market segments.

k. Telecommunications and Broadband Support

i. Advise DEEP’s Office of Telecommunications and Broadband on federal broadband funding programs.

ii. Assist with policy development related to broadband, including net neutrality, affordability and artificial intelligence policy and monitor such developments within federal and state government.

iii. Provide technical analysis and advisory Services related to infrastructure deployment, including analysis of broadband availability, reliability, performance, affordability, adoption, and service gaps.

l. Energy Resilience and Microgrids

i. Provide consulting related to energy resilience and microgrid projects, including, but not limited to support for administering energy resilience funding.

ii. Support for the development of competitive grant funding opportunities related to energy resilience and microgrids.

iii. Support in proceedings before FERC, PURA, and the Connecticut Siting Council related to energy resilience.

m. Electrical Transmission Planning and Other Support

i. Provide technical assistance or serve as an expert witness in transmission siting proceedings before the Connecticut Siting Council or matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ii. Provide consulting Services consistent with the requirements laid out in Section 25 of Public Act 25-173, which creates new requirements for electrical transmission and distribution projects in Connecticut.

iii. Assist DEEP in evaluating the local transmission plans of the transmission owners operating within the State and engaging the transmission owners and other interested entities, as warranted.

iv. Assist DEEP in engaging in ISO-New England’s (the regional grid operator for the six New England states) transmission planning processes and any associated proceedings.

n. Thermal Energy Network Feasibility and Planning

i. Identify suitable sites for thermal energy networks (“TENs”) including geothermal networks.

ii. Review of specific project feasibility.

iii. Assess legal and policy framework in the State to enable and support TENs.

o. Stakeholder Communications Support

i. Develop stakeholder engagement materials and facilitate public meetings, at the discretion and review of DEEP staff.

ii. Analyze stakeholder feedback.

p. Special Projects / Technical Studies

i. Assist DEEP with the development of its Integrated Resources Plan, Comprehensive Energy Strategy, Biannual Broadband Report, or any other studies or analyses requested by Client Agency.

ii. Prepare written reports, presentations, and policy briefs.

iii. Facilitate stakeholder outreach and public meetings.

iv. Assist DEEP in completing federal funding applications, reporting, and advising on deployment.

STANDARIZED LABOR CATEGORY STRUCTURE

The following labor categories are organized by discipline and standardized by level:

a. Executive / Strategic

i. Principal / Partner

ii. Senior Advisor / Subject Matter Expert

b. Technical and Analytical

i. Senior Energy Economist / Market Analyst

ii. Energy / Policy Analyst

iii. Data Scientist / Quantitative Analyst

iv. Regulatory Analyst

c. Engineering and Specialized Technical

i. Senior Engineer (Energy Systems, Transmission, Distributed Energy Resources (DER))

ii. Energy Modeler / Simulation Specialist

iii. Microgrid / Resilience Specialist

d. Program and Policy

i. Program Design Specialist

ii. Policy Analyst / Advisor

iii. Evaluation Specialist (Evaluation, Measurement, and Verification (EM&V))

e. Telecommunications and Broadband

i. Telecommunications / Broadband Specialist

ii. Digital Infrastructure Analyst

f. Project Delivery

i. Project Manager

ii. Deputy Project Manager / Task Lead

g. Support

i. Research / Junior Analyst

ii. Technical Writer / Communications Specialist

All labor categories are defined by minimum qualifications, including education and years of experience, as set forth in Exhibit B, Price Schedule. Contractor shall have personnel available for assignment as requested by Client Agency. The Client Agency reserves the right to review, reclassify, or reject personnel that do not meet the minimum qualifications.

The Contractor shall not reclassify personnel to higher-paying labor categories without prior written approval from the Client Agency.

Engineering-related labor categories are limited to advisory, analytical, modeling, and technical consulting Services. Contractor shall not perform design, stamping, or construction-phase Services in such labor categories.

SUBCONTRACTED SERVICES:

q. If Contractor must engage subcontractors to Perform Services under this Contract that are not identified in the labor categories listed in Exhibit B, Price Schedule, and the cost of such Services will exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), then the Contractor must request prior written authorization from the Client Agency to obtain such subcontracted Services.

r. After the Client Agency sends written approval for the Contractor to proceed with subcontracted Services, the Contractor shall send the Client Agency (1) a written justification for obtaining such Services not in Exhibit B; (2) a minimum of three (3) cost proposals for such Services, where practicable; and (3) the Contractor’s recommended selection of the most qualified subcontractor. Where specialized or unique expertise is required and multiple proposals are not reasonably available, the Contractor shall provide a written justification in lieu of multiple proposals. The Client Agency may provide written approval, in its sole discretion, of the selection of the recommended subcontractor. The Contractor shall not provide any subcontracted Services without prior written approval from the Client Agency.

s. If the Contractor receives written approval from the Client Agency to provide subcontracted Services, the Contractor may be eligible to receive a markup not to exceed five percent (5%) of the costs actually incurred by said Contractor for any such Services. Authorization, however, from the Client Agency to provide subcontracted Services, does not in and of itself constitute authorization for a Contractor to receive up to a five percent (5%) mark-up for such costs. Rather, a Contractor may receive up to a five percent (5%) mark-up for such costs, subject to negotiations and agreement of the Client Agency, only if:

i. For any costs relating to the use of a subcontractor, such subcontractor is not itself a Contractor under a resulting DAS Contract;

ii. Any such Services provided are not included in Exhibit B, Price Schedule; and

iii. Any such Services provided were approved by Client Agency in Client Agency’s sole discretion.

STATEMENT OF WORK

Contractor and Client Agency shall mutually agree in a SOW, using the SOW template in Attachment 1 to this Exhibit A, upon the specific Services to be provided for each project under this Contract, provided however, routine or minor assignments may be authorized without a SOW at the discretion of the Client Agency.

a. Each SOW:

i. is issued pursuant to and governed by this Contract

ii. shall not append, amend, or supersede any terms and conditions of this Contract, unless such terms and conditions are required by federal law.

iii. shall be limited to advisory, analytical, policy, and technical consulting Services consistent with this Contract.

iv. shall not include detailed engineering design, stamped drawings, construction administration, inspection Services, legal Services, or implementation activities.

v. shall incorporate and utilize only the Contract’s established labor categories and fully burdened rates as set forth in Exhibit B, Price Schedule, including any additional categories approved by DAS and incorporated into the resultant Contract(s).

b. SOW Development and Approval

i. The Client Agency may request a SOW from one or more Contractors qualified to perform the Services.

ii. The Contractor shall prepare and submit a proposed SOW for review by the Client Agency.

iii. Each SOW shall, at a minimum, include:

1) Project scope and objectives

2) Detailed description of Services to be performed

3) Deliverables and milestones

4) Schedule and period of Performance

5) Cost estimate based on the rates set forth in Exhibit B, Price Schedule, including labor categories, level of effort, and estimated hours

6) A not-to-exceed (NTE) amount, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Client Agency

7) Roles and responsibilities of the Contractor and Client Agency

8) Federal Requirements, if applicable

iv. Work shall not commence until the SOW is signed by the Client Agency and the Contractor and a Purchase Order is received by the Contractor.

c. Deliverables and Acceptance Each SOW shall define project-specific Deliverables and acceptance criteria, which may include without limitation:

i. Technical reports and studies;

ii. Policy analyses, recommendations, and briefing materials;

iii. Data analysis, models, and supporting datasets;

iv. Regulatory filings, testimony, or supporting documentation; and

v. Program design documentation or evaluation reports.

All Deliverables are subject to review and acceptance by the Client Agency.

Deliverables shall not include engineering plans, stamped specifications, construction administration records, or inspection reports.

d. Any amendment to a SOW must:

i. be mutually agreed to in writing;

ii. clearly describe changes to Deliverables, schedule, or cost;

iii. comply with the terms and conditions of this Contract;

iv. remain within scope of the Description of Deliverables set forth in Exhibit A; and

v. comply with the Price Schedule set forth in Exhibit B.