3188111.ORIM.NGS_RFI.docx

RFI #9999999

Natural Gas Management System

California Department of General Services Request for Information

RFI# 3188111

Office of Risk and Insurance Management Natural Gas Management System Request for Information RFI 3188111; Page 2 of 13

March 14, 2016

To: Interested Respondents

Subject: Request for Information (RFI) # 3188111, Natural Gas Management System

A. PURPOSE

The Department of General Services (DGS), Office of Business and Acquisition Services (OBAS) and Office of Risk and Insurance Management (ORIM) are providing the opportunity for interested Respondents to participate in a Request for Information (RFI) regarding a commercial Natural Gas Management System for the management of natural gas procured and distributed via a statewide program.

The objective of this RFI is to gather information about current market conditions and to collect information from Respondents and suppliers related to the availability of goods or services that can meet the needs of the state. This is a solicitation for information only; there will be no directly resulting contract. The Questionnaire is included as Attachment II.

B. PLAN OVERVIEW

DGS requires a solution and associated services for implementation of a Natural Gas Management System to capture and track natural gas supply from contract to delivery. The solution must also provide automated intake of meter data.

C. KEY ACTION DATES AND TIMES:

Listed below are the Key Action Dates and times within which actions should be taken or completed. If DGS find it necessary to change any of these dates, an Addendum to this RFI will be posted on the California State Contracts Register (CSCR) Webpage:

https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/Events-BS3/event-search.aspx.

Please send any RFI responses and all correspondence and/or questions related to this RFI to Jason Casillas, Acquisition Analyst, at Jason.casillas@dgs.ca.gov.

D. DISCLAIMER

1. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. A response to this RFI is not an offer and cannot be accepted by the state to form a binding contract.

2. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

3. Participants are advised that the responses to this RFI may be subject to the Public Records Act. Please do not include any proprietary information or any specific solutions in your response to this RFI.

4. Responding to this RFI creates no obligation on the part of any Respondent to the Department of General Services. Conversely, issuing this RFI and considering the responses creates no obligation on the part of the Department of General Services to any Respondent.

5. Submitting a response to this RFI will not enhance the review of that Respondent’s proposal(s) to any future solicitations. Not submitting a response to this RFI will not prohibit a response to any future solicitation, nor disadvantage the evaluation of a response to any future solicitation. By submitting a response to this RFI a Respondent is implicitly agreeing with these conditions.

6. The Department of General Services asks willing Respondents to share non-binding budgetary pricing information for each proposed solution where requested. Pricing is only for planning purposes. Any pricing provided in a response to this RFI will not be considered a proposal/bid on the part of a Respondent.

E. RFI FORMAT AND SUBMISSION

Responses to this RFI are due by the date and time stated in the Key Action Dates section.

Responses should be submitted via e-mail to the State’s contact identified in Section G, Contact Information, and should include the following information in the e-mail subject line: RFI # 3188111 and Natural Gas Management System.

Respondent’s response should contain the following:

1. A cover letter that includes the following elements:

a. Respondent name, address, telephone number, and fax number; and

b. Contact information including the name, title, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the Respondent’s primary contact person for this RFI.

2. A narrative describing the following, as applicable:

a. The Respondent’s primary business focus, areas of expertise, certifications and/or credentials relevant to the content of this RFI, and experience with similar systems; and

b. The Respondent’s experience doing business with the State of California.

3. Any additional recommendations that the Respondent might find relevant to the RFI.

4. The Respondent’s response to all Attachments. Please ensure that the format and numbering of the response correlates to that within each Attachment. Responses should be concise and straightforward. Respondents should provide narrative, diagrams, pictures, videos and any other available means to convey their comments or answer to each specification or question, and any additional recommendations that the Respondent might find relevant to the RFI.

5. The State recognizes that not all Respondents will be able or willing to respond to all issues addressed in the Attachments. Please respond to issues which are applicable to your company’s scope of work, and indicate N/A where necessary. While not required, Respondents are encouraged to answer all questions. If a Respondent elects not to respond to a question, please provide feedback on why.

6. Electronically delivered responses must be received in Microsoft Word or PDF. All text, tables, and drawings must use the Microsoft Office Suite (2015 or later) and be provided in readable formats.

F. RESPONDENT QUESTIONS

Respondents must submit questions regarding this RFI via e-mail by the specified date identified in the Key Action Dates section. Questions should be submitted via email to the contact person listed in the Contact Information section.

The following should be included in the e-mail inquiry:

· On the subject line of the e-mail, include: RFI # 3188111 and Natural Gas Management System Respondent Questions’

· Respondent name, contact person, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address, as part of the sender’s contact information;

· A description of the subject or issue in question, or discrepancy found in the RFI;

· RFI section, page number, and/or other information useful in identifying the specific problem or issue in question; and

· The Respondent’s question(s).

At its discretion, the state may contact Respondents to seek clarification of any inquiry received. The state may respond to questions directly to the Respondent or if deemed necessary, release an addendum or updated RFI.

A Respondent who desires clarification or further information on the content of the RFI, but whose questions relate to a proprietary aspect of that Respondent’s submission and if disclosed to other Respondents would expose that Respondent’s submission, may submit such questions in the same manner as above, marked “CONFIDENTIAL,” not later than the scheduled date specified herein to ensure a response. The Respondent must explain why any questions are of a sensitive nature. If OBAS concurs that the disclosure of the question or answer would expose the proprietary nature of the submission, the question will be answered and both the question and answer will be kept in confidence during the RFI process. If OBAS does not concur with the explanation of the proprietary aspect of the question(s), the question(s) will not be answered in this manner and the Respondent will be so notified.

G. CONTACT INFORMATION

The RFI responses and all correspondence and/or questions related to this RFI shall be directed to the following identified State contact person:

Name: Jason Casillas Office: Office of Business and Acquisition Services Phone: (916) 375-4229 E-mail Address: Jason.casillas@dgs.ca.gov

H. BACKGROUND

1. Overview of DGS DGS serves as business manager for the State of California. DGS helps to better serve the public by providing a variety of services to state agencies through procurement and acquisition solutions, real estate management and design, environmentally friendly transportation, professional printing, design and Web services, and design oversight and funding for the creation and construction of safe schools.

DGS is a fee-for-service agency that relies completely on revenue from billing other state entities for its services. DGS consists of multiple divisions and offices with distinct business lines.

For more information about DGS, visit www.dgs.ca.gov.

2. Overview of Natural Gas Services Natural Gas Services (NGS) acts as marketer/agent in the purchase and delivery of natural gas to approximately 200 state agencies, colleges and universities, municipalities, special districts, and other public benefit end-users. Natural gas is purchased at the state border or citygate and delivered to customers via the intrastate (backbone) and Local Distribution Company (LDC utility) pipelines. Customers are noncore and occupy various tariffs depending on gas end-use purpose.

3. Background Information NGS utilizes workbooks to capture gas purchased, delivered and consumed by customers, along with a report writer to create invoices and accounts payable files. Separate workbooks contain general customer, LDC utility, and supplier contract data; meter information, tariffs and transmission allowances; monthly projections (up to 5 years); and gas supply transaction (confirm) information. NGS provides natural gas supply to noncore (meters using over 20,800 therms per month) for electric generation, vehicle use, and general heating. Gas transactions may be individual purchases or allocated to end-users within a “pool.”

I. SCOPE

This RFI seeks information about the cost, ease of adaptation, and directly related service features available through industry-specific, commercially produced software. NGS prefers a single solution to manage all of its operational needs, and where one single solution does not exist, the fewest number of compatible solutions to achieve its objectives. It is expected that an integrated Natural Gas Management System will automate and centralize natural gas supply processes and minimize NGS’ reliance on workbooks.

NGS is interested in systems that are gas industry specific, easy to maintain and operate, and easy to configure; that can accommodate tariff changes; require minimal customizations; and produce quicker outputs at a lower cost. The system should track all natural gas activities from the point of purchase to burner tip, including tying back the cost of supply to vendor invoices, and consolidate the supply and delivery charges onto each customer’s bill. The system must give NGS automated operational control and create a seamless informational flow amongst its functional areas, including gas acquisition, transportation in the interstate and intrastate pipelines, and accounting and retail marketing behind the city gates.

The ideal solution will automate manual processes that are currently handled by multiple workbooks; eliminate redundancy; minimize user errors; offer comprehensive reporting; create a seamless work flow from gas acquisition to transportation, supply and control through to accounting and supplier invoicing; use available interfaces with LDC utility systems; and include a user portal for customer self-service.

J. IDEAL SYSTEM CAPABILITIES

1. Relationship Management Database A. Informational database to capture and control customer , gas supplier, and utility partner information

i. Access to setup and maintain entity contract terms and conditions and free format notes to support narrative text

ii. Document upload and view capabilities for common file extensions (i.e., MS Office, PDF, etc.)

iii. Document upload features to send to all or selected users

iv. Export & ad-hoc functionality for entity information B. NGS relationships management

i. NGS customers

a) Customer setup and contact data in a query-able system

b) Contact information to include name, address, office and mobile phone, fax number and email address for Accounts Payables office, Facility (gas use location) and Emergency notification

c) NGS service (activation) agreements and contracts

d) Gas Purchase Agreements (i.e., mirror of supplier confirm in NGS format)

e) Authorized purchaser name and title, and others authorized to enter into contracts

ii. Gas suppliers and traders

a) Entity name, master contract effective dates, Duns numbers, addresses, invoice information, billing and trade desk contacts

b) Web interface user criteria and log in credentials

c) North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) base contracts, terms and conditions

d) Link with purchased gas contract (confirmation) documents

iii. Pipelines and LDC utilities

a) LDC utility and pipeline name, contract effective dates, invoice information, billing and service contacts

b) Access rights and agreements

a. Setup and maintenance of pipeline points (physical and virtual) and contracted volumes

b. On-System city gate reference points for gas supply aggregation and on-system imbalance calculation

c. Gate station update program to load pipeline measurement data and reference scheduled gas to determine imbalance positions

c) Link with electronic bulletin board (EBB) system for notification to NGS customers

d) Program management information, i.e., auction allowable volume and award C. Customer management

i. Customer LDC utility service agreements, contracts and start-up documents

a) Assignment of NGS as agent/marketer and related authorities

b) Transportation ID, meter ID, service area ID, account number, usage account, Site ID, Order Control Code (OCC) and meter type

c) Tariff code and rates by meter

d) Customer transmission (backbone) capacity allowances, agreements and assignments

2. Gas Acquisition & Pricing A. Supply purchase (bid/offer) interface

i. Confidential user login to participate in live, competitive bidding

ii. Internal web portal access for NGS review/selection of supplier bids

a) Automated determination of best value option

b) Record of purchase requests (invitation to bid) B. Price reference repository

i. Index price information and other costs and fees not generally associated with a published index (i.e., Gas Daily, Inside FERC, Henry Hub, etc.)

ii. Manual or automated input and update of index prices and downloaded price information (i.e., Platt’s) C. Create, modify and review gas transactions from nomination to delivery

i. Mass recalculation of physical deals referenced to a price index

ii. Track commodity and breakout segment costs

iii. Generate pipeline nominations and track confirmations

3. Deal Capture & Reporting A. Capture and manage gas transactions according to NAESB Master Contract

i. Allow multi-month period from Deal Start to End Date

ii. Allow for selection of transporter pipeline and transaction point

iii. Capture counterparty and designated trader contact information

iv. Allow for daily or monthly deal quantity

v. Permit variable deal structures

vi. Include comment section for adding Special Provisions B. Recording and reporting for all deals

i. Grid listing of deal data elements with ability to sort

ii. User-specific deal listing for selected time period, including a multi-month selection.

iii. Ability to show all deals or only deals with a specific counter party

iv. Deal total quantity per day and scheduled quantity

v. Path analysis tool to determine the cost of delivered gas given a multi-path route for transportation

4. Supply Management A. Develop mid-month customer email for projected (prompt month) estimated usage

i. Capture customer gas projections and auto-analyze based on historic use and weather forecasts

ii. Develop estimated gas requirements per customer and (aggregated) pool volume

iii. Prepare supplier gas order based on delivery expectations (monthly projections) and active transactions B. Develop appropriate allocations per customer/pool C. Interface with LDC utility systems and meters

i. Access, import and decode electronic data interchange (EDI), including daily and monthly usage (i.e., billable utility data) by meter

ii. Configure meter data into accessible (i.e., Excel) format

iii. Access and track daily imbalances

iv. Capture consolidated imbalance (statement) from each LDC with breakdown by meter

v. Access shipper resources including nomination, scheduling and balancing resources and management/response to operation functions and orders

vi. Alert NGS to distribution issues by location, including constraints and curtailments (as well as history)

vii. Notify/Upload new tariff classifications and rate schedule changes

viii. Store and edit the schedules for each pool

a) Actualize delivery schedules for pools according to pipeline actual delivery reports

b) Capture actual pool usage schedules for pools by day and service point

5. Accounting A. Record all gas transactions, including nominations, confirmations and metered receipts B. Calculate the appropriate unit cost of gas for the various inventories and usages and associate these costs with the appropriate volume statements C. Apply actual or estimated costs to the volumes developed in the measurement and reconciliation phase to permit the generation of journal entries for inclusion in the general ledger D. Reconcile end of month gas acquisition contract transactions

i. Access daily pipeline confirmations, compare to nominations, actual usage and monthly pipeline bills

a. Track mark to market position

b. Accept volumes from all sources (by activity number) to permit the detailed calculation of the natural gas purchased, utilized, sold and unaccounted for

ii. Provide daily cash flow requirements for fuel purposes E. Provide a contract summary for all Vendors to match with Vendor invoices.

i. Provide for a Manual adjustment for rounding errors and a Manual update for all rounding errors to the general ledger account category to balance the invoice verses the system totals.

ii. Upload vendor invoice and calculation documents F. Consolidate 3rd party data to generate customer billing

i. LDC utility EDI (meter) data

ii. Gas supply contracts

a. Individually owned by customer

b. Proportional usage of pool purchases G. Display information at the customer level as well as aggregate customer information at the pool level H. Accommodate basic supplier activities such as pool trading, flat forecasting, and commodity payback

K. ATTACHMENTS

1. Attachment A –DGS Information System Standard

2. Attachment B – Questionnaire.

ATTACHMENT I

DGS Information System Standards

Department of General Services (DGS) information system standards are the requirements for all custom and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) system implementations. Vendor-based solutions must adhere to these standards and any vendor proposal must certify that the proposed solution will meet these standards. Exceptions to the some of the standards may be granted on a case-by-case basis for implementations that are: 1) fully vendor hosted and/or supported as evident through the vendor contract language, or 2) in the process of being upgraded to meet the standards.

General Standards

1. Solution includes Single Sign On integration with DGS Active Directory.

2. Solution’s Role based authorization should be AD integrated and cannot utilize database accounts.

3. Solution executes on an Operating System that will have security patch support for at least 3 years from the date of the RFO was issued.

4. Solution must be compatible with all critical Operating System security patches within 90 days of the release of the security patch.

5. Solution must communicate over TCP/IP v4 on standard and/or clearly defined network ports. Dynamic and/or ephemeral port ranges are unacceptable.

6. The Solution’s web based user interface must be compatible with Internet Explorer 11 in either native or compatibility mode and do not require additional Add-ons or Plug-ins.

7. Any network servers required by the Solution that will be hosted on the DGS’s network must be:

· Completely compatible with VMWare vSphere 5.5. There can be no physical licensing or security hardware required for the Solution’s operation. For example, the Solution cannot require a USB dongle for license compliance.

· MS Windows Server 2012 R2 compatible.

· MS SQL Server 2012 compatible.

· Located physically at DGS, 707 3rd street West Sacramento CA and allow for software updates at this location.

8. SSL with TLS 1.2 is required for data transmission.

9. Data Transfer between DGS Network and “offsite hosting or cloud network”: Input / output file size must be less than 50MB.

10. Onsite solution must be a multi-tier solution. At a minimum, the database should be segregated.

Desirable Standards The solution should not have a dependency on JRE, or Adobe Flash. HTML 5 should be used as an alternative to JRE or flash.

Network Standards The proposed solution must be able to be deployed on a converged network and meet or exceed the following network requirements:

1. ISO 35.110, Networking.

2. IEEE 802.3, Communication Standards.

3. ANSI/TIA-568-C.0, Generic Telecommunications Cabling for Customer Premises, 2009.

4. ANSI/TIA-568-C.1, Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard, 2009.

5. ANSI/TIA-568-C.2, Balanced Twisted-Pair Telecommunication Cabling and Components Standard, published 2009.

6. ANSI/TIA-568-C.3, Optical Fiber Cabling Components Standard, published 2008, plus errata issued in October, 2008.

7. TIA-569-B (2004; Amd 1 2009) Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces.

8. ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-A-2002, Administration Standard for Commercial Telecommunications Infrastructure.

Security Standards DGS uses the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the FIPS standards in their information management planning and operations.

1. The minimum security requirements of the system shall use National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-53A, Rev 4, at the moderate level.

2. State requirements as outlined in the California State Administrative Manual Section 5300, available at: http://www.cio.ca.gov/Government/IT_Policy/pdf/SAM_Chapter_5300.pdf If remote access is used, it must also comply with State of California, Statewide Information Management Manual (SIMM) 5360-A, Telework and Remote Access Security Standard (September 2013), available at: http://www.cio.ca.gov/Government/IT_Policy/SIMM/SIMM5360_A.PDF

ATTACHMENT II

QUESTIONNAIRE

A. General

1. Briefly describe how your solution handles the following business functions:

A. Customer databases

i. Customer service agreements between program manager, LDC and gas suppliers

ii. Customer contact and billing information

iii. Customer facility delivery specifications

iv. Meter and transportation (utility specific) data

v. Customer individual gas deals B. Vendor databases for contracts and contacts with DGS

i. LDC Interstate/Intrastate

ii. Multiple gas suppliers

iii. Consultants C. Access to monthly multiple utility meters, reading of meter data and download into usable (i.e., Excel) format for analysis and review of usage.

i. Real-time access/visibility into utility meter data.

ii. Access to utility meters along the following LDC platforms:

1. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)

2. Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)

3. San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E)

4. Long Beach Gas and Oil (LBG&O)

5. Tuscarora/GTN (Susanville lateral) D. Multiple bidder supply bid evaluation system

i. Confidential web portal for suppliers to enter bids

ii. NGS system to compare bids; ability to automatically select lowest price bid for evaluation by NGS

iii. Capture of transaction confirm for winning bid E. Record and track assignment of gas supply and costs (as incurred)

i. Supply purchased for distribution to multiple (NGS selected) end-users

ii. Delivery to a single customer

2. Approximately how long would it take to implement this system solution?

3. How would you describe the intended use of your firm’s application, i.e., who would use it and how?

4. What major hurdles have other customers faced with these projects?

5. Please describe any other options and/or strategies that your company can propose to improve the service solution.

6. Please share any feedback, suggested requirements or other information your company would consider important for the State to consider with respect to this service.

B. Customer Support

1. What are the hours (include time zone) of your firm’s Customer Support Department?

2. Please describe your firm’s customer service issue resolution process including levels of severity and turnaround times.

3. Please explain your firm’s escalation process around issue resolution.

4. Please explain your firm’s account management structure.

5. How is custom functionality or enhancement requests handled?

C. Training

1. Please detail the training options that are available for your clients.

2. How much training is typically required for new users and what are the annual training requirements?

3. What type of pre- and post-implementation services does your company provide a client?

D. Additional Information

Please provide any additional information about your services that may not have been requested.

1. Estimate the number of employees required to efficiently operate your recommended solution. Include the general duties and required skills needed to be performed by each employee.

2. Please provide an outline of ongoing service and support maintenance that must be performed by Respondent and state staff alike.

3. What is the expected annual number of hours and cycle time of preventative maintenance for the solution?

4. What is the expected end of life for this solution?

5. Is the technical support team capable of supporting your solution located in Northern California?

6. Provide contact information of installations in California of your proposed solution that could be contacted by the state.

E. Product Capabilities/Features

1. Please describe how you optimize your product for the end user.

2. Is your product designed for self-service, staff assisted service, or a mix of both service types?

3. What is the minimum hardware/software configuration recommended for performance purposes?

4. Do you provide demonstrations of current projects and capabilities? (Please note: DGS will not reimburse for the expense of demonstration and makes no commitment to procurement based on the information supplied)

5. What resources and support will you provide if the State wishes to pilot the product? Will there be a cost to the State for this pilot?

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