GSA IL OH Fall 2020 Electricity 47PA0420R0070 Questions 9.21.20.docx

47PA0420R0070 GSA OH/IL Competitive Electricity Questions and Answers Received as of 5:00 PM ET TuesdaySeptember 15, 2020

1. Pricing groups 2, 3, & 4 are all in Ohio but the RFP references on A.1 (page 2) and Attachment 1 (Price Component Confirmation Table) that Transmission (NITS) are to be included in the contract price. In Ohio utilities are responsible for collecting Transmission (NITS) and so that component cannot be bundled into a retail electric provider’s price. Please confirm your understanding of that is the same and Transmission would not be included in the contract price for the Ohio pricing groups.

Answer #1- Confirmed, see updated Attachment 2 found in amended solicitation document.

1. Can the GSA make the PDF solicitation document not a read-only version to allow for an easier method of addressing the technical response? Currently it does not allow you to insert or delete required response pages without having to manually rescan the entire document.

Answer #2- Please use the forms provided. A read only version is used for continuity of all submissions.

1. We recently submitted financials to the GSA in May of this year for a previous RFP that were accepted. Can that recent submission count towards the compliance with the Evidence of Technical Acceptability in section C.1 (5)?

Answer #3- Past accepted submissions will not be considered as evidence of technical acceptability for current and or solicitations in the future. Per section C.1(5), offeror must provide recent proof of a current rating of A or better with Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s or provide their most recent audited financial statements.

1. Please confirm that Transmission costs are passed through for Ohio accounts. In Attachment 2 Transmission Costs are indicated as Fixed.

Answer #5- See answer for questions #1

1. Are any Ohio accounts enrolled in the Transmission Pilot Program?

Answer #6- GSA is not aware of any accounts currently enrolled in this program.

1. Do any accounts utilize onsite generation?

Answer #6- GSA is not aware of any behind the meter generation assets planned for the installations included in this solicitation.

1. Are there plans for any accounts to utilize onsite generation for the proposed contract term?

Answer #7- See answer to question # 6.

1. How has COVID-19 impacted usage?

Answer #8- GSA currently does not have load reduction estimates for our facilities at this time but it can be expected to see reduced demand in buildings that have closed or operating at reduced occupancy. A full list of GSA closures and operating status can be found: https://www.gsa.gov/governmentwide-initiatives/emergency-response/facilities-status-and-information-overview " any future load changes have not been estimated at this time.

1. Are there any future reductions in usage expected due to COVID-19 for the proposed contract term?

Answer #9- GSA currently does not have an estimated timeline or estimates regarding load reduction for our facilities at this time but it can be expected to see reduced demand in buildings that have closed or operating at reduced occupancy. A full list of GSA closures and operating status can be found: https://www.gsa.gov/governmentwide-initiatives/emergency-response/facilities-status-and-information-overview "

1. In lieu of providing the “Annual Renewable Report” as specified in section A.12 can we provide confirmation of our annual Green-e audit?

Answer #10- Per section A.12, an Annual Renewable Report must include the listed requirements to be verified by an independent third party auditor and will be due to GSA for the annual reporting period of October 1 through September 30 no later than October 31rst of each year.

1. Please confirm technical submission is due September 22 by 3:00 Answer #11- Confirmed

1. B.1. 552.212-4: (i) Payment (5). Clarification, we can refund overpayment if notified by the customer.

Answer #12- Yes.

1. 3. B.2. 52.232-36: Payment by Third Party. What are the references made regarding Purchase Cards? Can you please clarify what exactly that is stating? DE does not accept Card payments.

Answer #13- The Government will not make payments to suppliers through purchase cards for any contracts awarded as a result of this solicitation.

1. B.2. 52.212-5: (d) Comptroller General Examination of Record. Please clarify the applicability given the situations set forth in this provision -- "shall comply with the provisions of this paragraph (d) if this contract was awarded using other than sealed bid, is in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, and does not contain the clause at 52.215-2, Audit and Records – Negotiation”? Is this provision even applicable or there are other standards we should be adhering to like 52.215-2?

Answer #14- 52.212-5 para (d) Comptroller General Examination of Record, is applicable if total estimated contract value is over the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000).

C.1. Evidence of Technical Acceptability (5). Clarification, our firm is not rated by either Moody's or Standard and Poor's. Our parent firm is rated Baa2 with Moody's and BBB with S&P.

Additionally, our parent company’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and not US GAAP. We would be able to obtain a letter of credit from a bank which is A rated. Could you confirm what the maximum value of Letter of Credit would be?

Answer #15- If requested by the Government, the assurance that the offeror has sufficient financial credit to purchase the volumes of electricity they intend to bid on will be based on the number of pricing groups the supplier plans to bid on, Independent Government Estimates (IGEs) of an estimated award price for each of those pricing groups and the term requested by GSA for each pricing group.

1. Section A – Scope of Work: A.4. Credit for Default Supply Service. The Company would like to clarify that it will not be responsible for payment of any additional supply costs for accounts forced to accept default supply service from the LDU due to invalid account data being provided to the Company by the Government.

Answer #15- Clarification noted.

1. Section A – Scope of Work: A.14. Regulatory Changes. This section does not take into account any changes that may or may not pass legislation for the contract period. The Company would like to clarify that it expects no changes to the regulatory environment from now until then and all changes will be considered a Change in Law.

Answer #16- Clarification noted.

1. Section B – FAR 52.212-4: (i) Payment. The Company would like to clarify that it does not offer any discount for Prompt Payments. Additionally, the Company does not pay interest on amounts due.

Answer #17- Clarification noted.

1. Can the GSA give an estimate on how much, if any of their load has been impacted by Covid shutdowns?

Answer #18- See answer to question #9.

1. If there has been an impact, does GSA have any estimate as to when load should return to normal?

Answer #19- See answer to question #9.

1. In C.2., it says, “The offered prices must remain constant for the full contract term for each pricing group.” Does this mean that change in law would not apply? HOWEVER, A.14(b)(1) says, “The contract price shall be increased by the amount of any after-imposed charges due to a change of Federal, State, or local regulation, provided the Contractor warrants in writing that no amount for such newly imposed Federal, State, and local regulation or rate increase was included in the contract price, as a contingency reserve or otherwise, and that the Contractor provides sufficient documentation to support the increase.”FYI-- The ceiling price for after-imposed regulatory costs is limited to 50% of the contract price Answer #20- No, section C.2, does not remove applicability of a change in law under Section A.14

1. Is there a SF30 Amendment available?

Answer #21- An SF30 has been provided in the Q&A release.

1. Were any of the meters/facilities impacted by COVID and experienced reduced load than otherwise would have been expected?

Answer #22- See answer #9.

1. For impacted meters/facilities, did they return to normal operations by July 1st ? Please identify.

Answer #23- See answer #9.

1. For meters/facilities expected to be impacted after July 1st, when ( in terms of month/year) does the Government expect these sites/meters to return to normal operations? Please identify.

Answer #24- See answer #9.

1. Proposer reserves the right to withdraw its price(s) at any time prior to bid being awarded.

Answer #25- Confirmed. While GSA strongly encourages all offerors to hold their prices until 1:30 p.m. per the solicitation requirements, Offerors may withdraw bids up until a notice of award via email is sent to the Offeror.

1. Proposer reserves the right to supplement or amend any of the questions, clarifications, or exceptions listed in this document.

Answer #26- The Question and Answer period regarding solicitation terms and conditions closed at 5:00 PM EDT on September 15, 2020. If suppliers have additional account or data related questions those can be submitted until 5:00 PM EDT on September 24, 2020.

1. Proposer would like to clarify that its contract prices shall be inclusive of the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a tax on suppliers and not on end users. Any other Taxes (if applicable) shall be passed through to the Government on its invoices barring a tax exemption form provided by the Government.

Answer #27- Confirmed

1. Proposer would like to understand if any of the accounts to be served have existing or planned behind-the-meter generation including but not limited to cogeneration, solar, wind, fuel cell, etc. If so, please provide as many details as possible including installation date, fuel type, historic output, forecasted output, etc.

Answer #28- See answer #6.

1. With respect to Page 2, Item A.2., Delivery Point: Proposer clarifies that Proposer supplies electricity to the ISO/utility interconnect. The utility will then distribute the electricity to the Government’s individual meters.

Answer #29 - The Government does not agree with the interpretation or clarification. The solicitation language in A.2 remains unchanged.

1. With respect to Page 3, A.5., Risk of Loss: Proposer clarifies that the Proposer supplies electricity to the ISO/utility interconnect, where title to the electricity shall switch from the Proposer to the Government. Any risk of loss shall transfer from the Proposer to the Government at the ISO/utility interconnect.

Answer #30- The Government does not agree with the interpretation or clarification. The solicitation language in A.5 remains unchanged.

1. With respect to Page 8, Section A.12, Renewable Power for Facilities in this Contract: a. Proposer requests that title to the RECs pass to the Government once delivery and payment for the RECs have been completed.

Answer #31- The title to the RECs will pass to the Government once the energy supply to the delivery point has been completed.

1. General clarification: Proposer takes exception to the absence of the following provision and requests the inclusion of the following provisions, which have been acceptable to the Government in connection with prior solicitation responses by Proposer: a. Emissions Reduction Disclaimer: In accordance with Green-e Energy certification requirements, RECs sold hereunder include all greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits associated with the renewable generation that produced such RECs, including carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction benefits, but do not include emission reduction benefits associated with capped and traded pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), mercury (Hg), and the oxides of nitrogen (NOX). Proposer makes no representations or warranties that the RECs sold hereunder can be used as offsets or otherwise for compliance with any emission reduction program, unless otherwise noted on our response.

B. RECs Resale: The Government agrees that it shall not offer for sale any RECs delivered by Proposer pursuant to this agreement.

Answer #32- No

1. With respect to Page 9, A.17., EnelX Fee: Proposer clarifies that any payments to EnelX will be pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Master Broker Agreement executed between Supplier and EnelX for any broker or administrative payments being collected or remitted.

Answer #33- Clarification noted.

1. With respect to Page 17, Subsections (n) Title and (o) Warranty, Proposer clarifies that title passes from Proposer to the Government at the ISO/utility interconnect and the utility and ISO are exclusively responsible for the energy transmission and delivery system, that Proposer has no independent control over their systems and will have no liability for any of their acts or omissions.

Answer #34- The Government does not agree with the interpretation or clarification. The solicitation language in the Commercial Items clause remains unchanged.

1. With respect to Page 31, Price Proposal and Attachment 2, Proposer clarifies that for an Ohio accounts, Proposer adheres to the PUCO’s “fixed means fixed” order in which fixed costs are “included in price subject to change in law” with change in law as described in the Solicitation. Pursuant to this order, the Government affirmatively consents to modify the price pursuant to Section A.14, Electricity Regulatory Changes, as provided in the Solicitation, if applicable.

Answer #35- The Government will act consistently with the terms of Section A.14 in evaluating price changes resulting from changes in Federal, State, or Local regulation.

1. With respect to Page 31, Price Proposal, subitem (4) – can the Government clarify the expected timeframe between awarding the offeror(s) and providing a fully executed contract?

Answer #36- The Government intends to provide a fully executed contract within a day of notifying the successful offeror(s) of award.

1. With respect to Page 33, D.3., Post Award Requirement for Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Proposer clarifies that it will not be utilizing subcontractors pursuant to this RFP.

Answer #37- Clarification noted

1. Proposer notes that Balancing Congestion Costs and FERC Order 745 do not apply to Price Group 1, Ameren.

Answer #38- Confirmed

1. Proposer notes that Attachment 2 does not specify treatment for System Support Resource (SSR) for Group 1 Ameren. This is akin to RMR in PJM and generally has been $0 for several years.

Answer #39- System support resource (SSR) will be treated as fixed.

1. With regards to Price Groups 4 and 5, the utilities grouped together have different transmission / ancillary service treatment and cannot generally be priced together. Said another way, FirstEnergy Ohio and AEP Ohio both include FERC Order 745 as a bypassable charges collected by the supplier while Duke and DPL do not. Proposer suggests grouping FirstEnergy + AEP together and Duke + DPL together, using staggered start dates. Alternatively, Proposer suggests making each utility its own Price Group. In addition, Attachment 2 may need to be updated to reflect that FERC Order 745 only applies to ComEd, AEP, and FirstEnergy (not Ameren, Duke, and DPL).

Answer #40- Please see updated Exhibit 1 for changes to pricing groups structures as well as corresponding attachment 2 for the applicable cost component treatment.

1. Price Groups 3, 4, and 5 are located in Ohio where Transmission and RMR is collected by the regulated utility. Attachment 2 may want to be updated to reflect Transmission and RMR costs are applicable to ComEd and Ameren and Transmission Reallocation Costs are applicable only to ComEd.

Answer #41- See answer to question # 40.

1. For the Price Group 1, Ameren, Proposer wanted to confirm the term of the bid. Section C.2 of the Proposal states 36 months while Exhibit 1 says 13 months.

Answer #43- Confirmed. The updated exhibit 1 reflects the change.

1. Proposer takes exception to the absence of the following provision and requests the inclusion of the following provisions, which have been acceptable to the Government in connection with prior solicitation responses by Proposer: a. Miscellaneous. If in any circumstance Proposer does not provide notice of, or object to, any default on the Government’s part under this Agreement, such situation will not operate or be construed as a waiver of any future default, whether like or different in character.

b. Miscellaneous (cont’d). If any portion of this Agreement is held legally invalid, the remainder will not be affected and will be valid and enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law and equity, and there will be deemed substituted for the

c. Miscellaneous (cont’d). This Agreement contains the entire agreement between both Parties, supersedes any other agreements, discussions or understandings (whether written or oral) regarding the subject matter of this Agreement, and may not be contradicted by any prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreement.

d. Miscellaneous (cont’d). Proposer is an independent Proposer under this Agreement, and nothing in this Agreement will be construed to constitute a joint venture, fiduciary relationship, partnership or other joint undertaking

Answer #43. Per C2 (7) The Government will not accept any exceptions to this solicitation which are inconsistent with the terms and requirements of this solicitation.

1. It looks like the RFP specifications all call for a 9/22 due date here but Enel auction is not scheduled until 9/29 and that deadline is mentioned in the official document as well. Just confirming the expectation here is the returned/completed specifications package on 9/22 and then pricing a week later Answer #44- Correct