Addendum 1~46.pdf

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114

Maura T. Healey

GOVERNOR

Kimberley Driscoll

LIEUTENANT

GOVERNOR

Rebecca L. Tepper

SECRETARY

Tel: (617) 626-1000 Fax: (617) 626-1081 www.mass.gov/eea

FREA Contractor for Strategic Federal and Regional Energy Affairs Advisory Services

PRF74 Energy, Climate Action, and Facility Advisory Services Category 1: Energy and Climate Action Research, Analysis, Advisory and Consulting Services

Project # FY27FREA0008

BD-27-1042-ENV-ENV01-132221

Addendum # 1

August 21, 2026

RE: Addendum No. 1 – RFQ Solicitation Document Update

To: All Proposers/Bidders of Record:

Please be advised that the RFQ Solicitation Documents for the above-referenced project have been modified, corrected, and/or supplemented as follows. Addendum No. 1 is hereby incorporated into the Contract Documents.

Purpose of Addendum:

The purpose of this addendum is to provide responses to questions submitted by proposers. All clarifications, explanations, and additional information are now part of the Contract Documents.

Questions Submitted Through COMMBUYS Bid Q&A:

1. What are FREA's highest-priority issues or workstreams for the selected contractor during the first six to 12 months of the engagement?

https://www.mass.gov/eea

Response: Please reference page 2, Section 1. Description or Purpose of Procurement’ in the RFQ for an overview of the services requested. The selected contractor must be qualified to support FREA in evaluating options and strategies for ISO-NE's compliance with FERC’s show cause order related to large loads and FERC’s Order No. 1920, in addition to ongoing interconnection procedures and capacity auction reform efforts.

2. Of the activities identified in the Scope of Services, are there particular areas where FREA anticipates needing the greatest level of support from the selected contractors?

Response: Please see the response to Question 1.

3. What type of deliverables does FREA anticipate requesting under this engagement? For example, does FREA expect technical analyses, memoranda, presentations, tariff review or drafting, or participation in stakeholder meetings?

Response: FREA has not identified specific types of deliverables at this point in the solicitation. Previous engagements of a similar nature have resulted in technical analysis, memoranda, presentations, and tariff language review.

4. Regarding the wholesale market initiative, are there specific current or anticipated ISO-NE market reforms that FREA expects to prioritize in this engagement?

Response: Please see the response to Question 1.

5. The RFQ states that the Contractor will assist FREA in developing strategies for optimizing and sequencing state clean-energy procurements with ISO-NE wholesale-market and transmission-planning initiatives. Does FREA anticipate that this work could include development of the terms or structure of specific state procurements, review of bidder proposals, or participation in bid evaluation/selection processes, or is the anticipated role limited to broader policy and strategic advice?

Response: FREA anticipates the selected contractor’s role to be limited to broader policy and strategic advice.

6. Does FREA anticipate that any strategic work under the indicated scope would create conflicts of interest that cannot be acceptably mitigated through disclosure or other means, with respect to

(i) current consulting support for clean energy generation or transmission developers or investors participating in procurements commenced prior to bid proposals, or (ii) future consulting support for clean energy generation or transmission developers or investors seeking to participate in future procurements under existing, modified or new procurement authority?

Response: Potential conflicts of interest should be identified in bid submissions and may be subject to relevant terms and conditions under the statewide contract.

7. Does FREA anticipate that the selected Contractor will provide ongoing/on-call strategic advisory support across all five areas identified in Section 9(a), or does FREA anticipate discrete assignments and deliverables within some subset of those areas? Are there particular workstreams that FREA expects to be the primary focus of the engagement?

Response: Please see the response to Question 1.

8. Can FREA provide additional guidance on the anticipated allocation of effort across the major subject areas in the scope? For example, does FREA expect the selected contractor's effort to be primarily focused on the ISO-NE LTTP and Order No. 1920 transmission planning activities;

Wholesale market design initiatives; Generation interconnection and large load integration issues; or Clean energy procurement strategy and market alignment?

Response: Please see the response to Question 1.

9. What types of support does FREA anticipate needing in connection with the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission? For example, should respondents assume participation in stakeholder meetings, development of technical comments, review of planning studies, support for state coordination activities, or other services? Can FREA advise on the expected level of participation in terms of number of meetings, virtual versus in-person precense, etc.

Response: Please see the responses to Questions 3 and 5. FREA does not expect the selected contractor to attend Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission’s recurring meetings.

10. Given the pending timing of ISO-NE's preferred LTTP solution determination and ongoing Order No. 1920 implementation activities, are there any specific regulatory or stakeholder milestones between September 2026 and June 2027 that FREA views as the highest priorities for contractor support?

Response: Please see the response to Question 1.

11. Does FREA have an anticipated level of effort or cadence for the engagement, such as expected hours per month, frequency of meetings, or periods during which the Contractor should anticipate particularly intensive support? Can FREA provide examples of the types and approximate frequency of anticipated deliverables or activities-for example, written analyses, presentations, participation in meetings, review of filings or proposals, development of tariff language, or other advisory support?

Response: Please see the responses to Questions 1, 3, and 5.

12. The RFQ requires the Cost Proposal to be broken out by scope service, staff person, and hourly rate, and states that respondents "must provide project-based pricing instead of the maximum billing rates established in PRF74." The Price criterion also states that proposals that "can accomplish the scope with lower budgets will be weighed more favorably." However, the Scope of Services describes broad areas of advisory support without specifying quantities, levels of effort, or deliverables on which to base comparable budgets. Could FREA please clarify the intended basis for Cost Proposals and comparison of proposed budgets? Specifically: (a) Is FREA expecting respondents to assume a common quantity or level of effort for each service? If so, please specify the assumed services, deliverables, hours, or other level-of-effort assumptions respondents should use. (b) Alternatively, should each respondent propose its own level of effort and allocation of the available budget among the service areas? If so, how will FREA compare proposals that assume materially different quantities or levels of service? (c) Does "project-based pricing" mean a project-specific not-to-exceed budget based on estimated hours by task and personnel multiplied by proposed hourly rates, with invoices based on work performed? Or is FREA requesting fixed prices for particular services or deliverables? (d) If project-specific hourly rates are proposed, may they differ from, but not exceed, the respondent's applicable PRF74 maximum billing rates? (e) Should respondents develop a proposed level of effort up to the RFQ's $100,000 estimated procurement value, or propose whatever total budget they believe appropriate to perform the assumed scope?

Response: Please see the responses to Questions 1, 3, and 5.

13. Please clarify the anticipated contract term. Section 7 identifies an initial 12-month term plus a 12-month renewal option, while Section 9(b) states that the contract is anticipated to run through June 30, 2027. Is the initial contract expected to end June 30, 2027, or run for 12 months from the contract start date?

Response: The initial contract is expected to run for 12 months from the fully executed contract start date.

14. Does the $100,000 maximum contract amount apply only to the initial contract term, or does it include any renewal period? If the contract is renewed, does FREA anticipate additional funding for the renewal term?

Response: Please see pages 5 to 6, Section 9 (b). Fiscal and Additional Terms” in the RFQ.

15. With respect to LTTP and Order No. 1920, does FREA anticipate that the Contractor's role will primarily involve strategic/policy advice, or should respondents anticipate performing technical transmission analyses, evaluating specific transmission solutions or proposals, developing tariff language, and/or supporting FREA's participation in ISO-NE or FERC proceedings?

Response: Please see the responses to Questions 1, 3, and 5.

16. Will the selected Contractor have access to relevant analyses, work products, background materials, or other deliverables developed under FREA's prior transmission planning and wholesale market advisory services contract?

Response: The selected contractor will be provided access to relevant materials, subject to any applicable terms and conditions of previous contracts.

END OF ADDENDUM