REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

Resource Adequacy Consultant

ISSUING OFFICE

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Bureau of Technical Utility Services

RFP NUMBER

PUC RFP 2026-1

DATE OF ISSUANCE

October 5, 2026 ii

PUC RFP 2026-1

Resource Adequacy Consultant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS iii

Part I—GENERAL INFORMATION 1

Part II—CRITERIA FOR SELECTION 13

Part III—TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL 16

Part IV – COST SUBMITTAL 24

Part V– SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS (SDB) AND VETERAN BUSINESS 25

ENTERPRISE (VBE) PARTICIPATION INFORMATION

Part VI – DRAFT CONTRACT WITH EXHIBIT 29 Exhibit 1 – Nondisclosure Agreement

Part VII – STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS 42

Part VIII – SDB AND VBE PARTICIPATION SUMMARY SHEET 43

APPENDIX A, PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

APPENDIX B, DOMESTIC WORKFORCE UTILIZATION CERTIFICATION

APPENDIX C, IRAN FREE PROCUREMENT CERTIFICATION

APPENDIX D, TRADE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

NOTICE FORM

APPENDIX E, SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS (SDB) PARTICIPATION FORMS

APPENDIX F, VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (VBE) PARTICIPATION FORMS

APPENDIX G, MODEL FORM OF SDB/VBE SUBCONTRACT AGREEMENT

iii

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Commonwealth will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

Activity Responsibility Date Pre-proposal Conference (BDISBO SDB/VBE Presentation)

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Issuing Office Potential Offerors

BDISBO

10-14-2026 1 p.m.

Deadline to submit Questions via email to Issuing Officer Darren D.

Gill at dgill@pa.gov. Potential Offerors October 14, 2026

Answers to Potential Offeror questions posted to https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals no later than this date.

Issuing Office October 19, 2026

Please monitor website https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals for all communications regarding the RFP. Potential Offerors Ongoing

Date the proposal must be received by the Issuing Office. Offerors November 6, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

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PART I

GENERAL INFORMATION

I-1. Purpose. This request for proposals (RFP) provides to those interested in submitting proposals for the subject procurement (Offerors) sufficient information to enable them to prepare and submit proposals for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Bureau of Technical Utility Service’s (Commission, TUS, Issuing Office) consideration on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Commonwealth) to satisfy a need for a Resource Adequacy Consultant (RAC or Project). This RFP contains instructions governing the requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements that Offerors must meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other RFP requirements.

I-2. Issuing Office. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Bureau of Technical Utility

Services has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be the Issuing Officer, Darren D. Gill, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Technical Utility Services, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120, work telephone number

(717) 783‑5244 and email dgill@pa.gov. Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer.

First Class Mail for Issuing Office:

Bureau of Technical Utility Services Darren D. Gill P.O. Box 3265 Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265

Overnight Street Address:

Bureau of Technical Utility Services Darren D. Gill 400 North St 3rd Fl. West Harrisburg PA 17120

Phone: (717) 783-5244

I-3. Overview of Project. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Bureau of Technical

Utility Services, seeks to retain the services of an independent contractor who will perform as the Commission’s Resource Adequacy Consultant.

mailto:dgill@pa.gov

I-4. Objectives. The selected bidder will become a contractor for the Commission, and will perform work as the Commission’s Resource Adequacy Consultant, which will include:

• Independent research and consideration of possibly proprietary and non‑proprietary information provided by electric distribution, transmission, and/or generation facilities among other resources directly from these entities and/or through Commission Staff in order to obtain input factors for forecast modeling resource adequacy.

• Evaluation of the methodologies, data and assumptions used by electric distribution companies (EDCs) when developing load forecasts submitted to the regional electric transmission organization, PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM).

• Evaluation of the EDCs’ annual load forecast submissions to PJM in terms of their accuracy, consistency, and transparency of EDC forecasting methods and assumptions

• Evaluation of PJM’s large load adjustment forecast in terms of the accuracy, consistency, and transparency of PJM’s forecasting methods and assumptions.

• An evaluation of PJM’s Long-Term Load Forecast in terms of the accuracy, consistency, and transparency of PJM’s forecasting methods and assumptions.

• Assistance to the Commission with the following:

• The Commission’s evaluation of the EDCs’ large load adjustment

(LLA) forecasts.

• The Commission’s review of specific EDC large-load customer agreements/contracts.

• The Commission’s preparation for the PJM Load Analysis

Subcommittee (LAS) meetings.

• Completion of reports on the required research elements and topics outlined below for each year of the contract. In addition to any relevant charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams used to convey the information requested below, the resulting report should summarize any findings in a narrative fashion.

The narrative elements of the reports should highlight the implications of the gathered data to the question of electric resource adequacy in PJM and specifically in the Commonwealth. Specifically, the reports should describe whether individual transmission zones or the entire Commonwealth may have insufficient generation resources to meet electric demand and identify when those shortages may occur, as well as how long they may persist.

Independent forecasts of load growth and resource adequacy for each of the next twenty (20) years within the Commonwealth and over the PJM footprint more broadly.

• Independent load forecasts for each transmission zone within the Commonwealth and the entire PJM Interconnection. Load forecasts should include specific forecasts with respect to: (1) electric vehicle adoptions; (2) electrification; and (3) large load additions for facilities such as data centers and energy intensive manufacturing.

• Independent analysis of generation resource retirements, considering, but not limited to, announced retirements, economic retirements, policy-induced retirements, and end-of-life-retirements.

• Capacity expansion modeling of resource additions based on current announcements and the PJM Interconnection’s existing interconnection queue.

• Price forecasts, by transmission zone, for both capacity and energy markets, for each of the next twenty (20) years.

• Modeling of interzone energy transfers based on resource deficiencies or for economic reasons.

• Any other forecast, modeling, or analysis the consultant deems necessary to complete the final report.

• Although the Commission is the primary audience for the reports, reports may also be distributed to other policymakers and interested parties. To accommodate other audiences, reports should be drafted to be understandable to audiences that may not have expertise in the electric sector.

• The provision of monthly progress reports to be submitted to the Project Officer.

• Monthly progress meetings with the Project Officer and relevant Commission and TUS staff throughout the term of the contract.

I-5. Type of Contract. It is proposed that if the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be a fixed term, price not-to-exceed, fee-for-service contract, as additionally defined in Section I-21, containing the Contract Terms and Conditions as shown in Part VI and Part VII. The RFP, the Winning Proposal, and the Questions and Answers published by the Commission on its website shall be incorporated into the Contract by reference.

I-6. Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received in response to this RFP. The Issuing Office, in its sole discretion, may undertake negotiations with Offerors whose proposals, in the judgment of the Issuing Office, show them to be qualified, responsible, and capable of performing the Project.

I-7. Incurring Costs. Neither the Commission nor the Issuing Office is liable for any cost(s) the Offeror incurs in the preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process, or in anticipation of award of the contract. The Offeror shall not begin compensable work until so notified by the Commission’s Project Officer, and a Notice to Proceed Letter (NTP) has been issued.

I-8. Questions & Answers. If an Offeror has any questions regarding this RFP they may be submitted as they arise via email, but no later than the date indicated on the Calendar of Events. The Offeror must submit those questions by email (with the subject line “RFP 2026-1 Resource Adequacy Consultant Question”) to the Issuing Officer named in Part I, Section I-2 of the RFP. The Issuing Officer shall post the final questions and answers to the Commission’s website (https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals) on an ongoing basis until the deadline stated on the Calendar of Events. When an Offeror submits a question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the Issuing Officer may respond to questions of an administrative nature by directing the questioning Offeror to specific provisions in the RFP. To the extent that the Issuing Office decides to respond to a non-administrative question after the deadline date, the question and answer will be provided to all Offerors by posting the final question and answer on the website.

All questions and answers as posted to the Commission’s website are considered an addendum to, and part of, this RFP in accordance with Part I, Section I-9. Each Offeror shall be responsible for monitoring the Commission’s website for new or revised RFP information. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information, nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or of the solicitation. The required protest process for Commonwealth procurements is described in Part I, Section I-25.

I-9. Addenda to the RFP. If the Issuing Office should deem it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the RFP on the Commission’s website (https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals). It is the Offeror’s responsibility to periodically check the Commission’s website for any new information or addenda to the RFP. As stated in Part I, Section I-8, answers to questions asked during the Questions & Answers period will be posted to the Commission’s website as addenda to the RFP.

I-10. Response Date. To be considered for selection, proposal submissions as described in Part

I, Section I-11 must arrive at the Issuing Office on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. A late proposal will not be considered, will remain unopened, and will be rejected by the Issuing Office.

The Issuing Office will not accept proposals via email or facsimile transmission. Offerors who send proposals by mail or other delivery service should allow sufficient delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals. If, due to inclement weather, natural disaster, or any other cause, the Commonwealth office location to which proposals are to be sent is https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals https://www.puc.pa.gov/about-the-puc/request-for-proposals closed on the proposal response date, the deadline for submission will be automatically extended until the next Commonwealth business day on which the office is open, unless the Issuing Office otherwise notifies Offerors. The hour for submission of proposals shall remain the same. Proposals received after the time and date specified in the Calendar of Events will be rejected, unopened, and not considered regardless of the reason for the late submission.

I-11. Proposal Requirements.

A. Proposal Submission: To be considered, Offerors should submit a complete response to this RFP to the Issuing Office, using the format provided in Section I‑11B, providing two hard copies and a single electronic proposal with separate files for the Technical Submittal; the Cost Submittal; the Small Diverse Business (SDB) Participation Submittal (SDB-2) (which must include either the SDB Utilization Schedule (SDB-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (SDB-4 and SDB-5), or both) and the Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE) Participation Submittal (VBE-2) (which must include either the VBE Utilization Schedule (VBE-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (VBE-4 and VBE-5), or both). The electronic submission must be on a USB Flash drive in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office compatible format, and any spreadsheets must be in Microsoft Excel. The Offerors may not lock or protect any cells or tabs. The USB Flash drive should clearly identify the Offeror and include the name and version number of the virus scanning software that was used to scan the USB Flash drive before it was submitted. The Offeror shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Offeror or Commonwealth official or Commonwealth consultant. Each proposal page should be numbered for ease of reference. An official authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions must sign the proposal. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 180 days or until a contract is fully executed, whichever occurs first. If the Issuing Office selects the Offeror’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Offeror’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.

Each Offeror submitting a proposal specifically waives any right to withdraw or modify it, except that the Offeror may withdraw its proposal by written notice received at the Issuing Office’s address for proposal delivery prior to the exact hour and date specified for proposal receipt. An Offeror or its authorized representative may withdraw its proposal in person prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt, provided the withdrawing person provides appropriate identification. An Offeror may modify its submitted proposal prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt only by submitting a clearly identified revised hard copy and electronic submission on USB Flash drive marked as “Revised Proposal” which complies with the RFP requirements.

B. Proposal Format: Offerors must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined below. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all proposal requirements. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the Proposal. All cost data relating to this proposal and all Small Diverse Business and Veteran Business Enterprise cost data should be kept separate from and not included in the Technical Submittal. Offerors should not reiterate technical information in the cost submittal. Each electronic proposal shall consist of the following four (4) separate electronic files:

1. Technical Submittal, in response to Part III:

a. Complete, sign and include Appendix A, Proposal Cover Sheet.

b. Complete, sign and include Appendix B, Domestic Workforce

Utilization Certification.

c. Complete, sign and include Appendix C, Iran Free Procurement Certification Form.

d. Complete, sign and include Appendix D, Trade Secret Confidential

Proprietary Notice Form.

2. Cost Submittal, in response to RFP Part IV; and

3. SDB Participation Submittal (SDB-2) (which must include the SDB Utilization Schedule (SDB-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (SDB-4 and SDB-5), or both), in response to RFP Part V; and

4. VBE Participation Submittal (VBE-2) (which must include the VBE

Utilization Schedule (VBE-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (VBE-4 and VBE-5), or both), in response to RFP Part V.

The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Offeror’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and financial resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP.

The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the Project, and the Offeror shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. The Issuing Office reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the Issuing Office that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the Project as specified.

I-12. Economy of Preparation. Offerors should provide a straightforward, concise description of the Offeror’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP.

I-13. Alternate Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Offerors to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternate proposals.

I-14. Discussions for Clarification. Offerors may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process prior to contract execution.

I-15. Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The selected Offeror must perform at least 50% of the total contract value. Nevertheless, the contract will require the selected Offeror to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. Further, the Issuing Office will consider the selected Offeror to be the sole point of contact regarding all contractual matters.

I-16. Proposal Contents.

A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require, confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of Offerors’ submissions in order to evaluate proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Offerors should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected. Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement as described in Subsection C below and must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.

B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Offeror copyright designations contained in proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to Appendix D of the RFP for a Trade Secret Confidential Proprietary Information Notice Form that may be utilized as the signed written statement, if applicable. If financial capability information is submitted in response to Part III of this RFP, such financial capability information is exempt from public records disclosure under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26).

I-17. Best and Final Offers (BAFO).

A. While not required, the Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with Offerors for the purpose of obtaining “best and final offers.” To obtain best and final offers from Offerors, the Issuing Office may do one or more of the following, in any combination and order:

1. Schedule oral presentations;

2. Request revised proposals;

3. Conduct an online auction; and

4. Enter into pre-selection negotiations.

B. The following Offerors will not be invited by the Issuing Office to submit a Best and Final Offer:

1. Those Offerors which the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsible or whose proposals the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsive.

2. Those Offerors which the Issuing Office has determined in accordance with

Part II, Section II-5, from the submitted and gathered financial and other information, do not possess the financial capability, experience or qualifications to assure good faith performance of the contract.

3. Those Offerors whose score for their technical submittal of the proposal is less than 75% of the total amount of technical points allotted to the technical criterion.

4. Those Offerors which the Issuing Office or the Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities (BDISBO) have determined to be not responsive to the criteria established by BDISBO in Part V and Part VIII of this RFP.

The Issuing Office may further limit participation in the best and final offers process to those remaining responsible offerors which the Issuing Office has, within its discretion, determined to be within the top competitive range of responsive proposals.

C. The Evaluation Criteria found in Part II, Section II-4, shall also be used to evaluate the Best and Final offers.

D. Price reductions offered through any online auction shall have no effect upon the Offeror’s Technical Submittal.

E. Any reduction to commitments to Small Diverse Businesses (SDB) or Veteran

Business Enterprise (VBE) must be proportional to the reduction in the total price offered through any BAFO process or contract negotiations unless approved by

BDISBO.

I-18. News Releases. Offerors shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements, or any other public communications pertaining to this Project without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office.

I-19. Restriction of Contact. From the issue date of this RFP until the Issuing Office selects a proposal for award, the Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP.

Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Offeror’s proposal. If the Issuing Office later discovers that the Offeror has engaged in any violations of this condition, the Issuing Office may reject the offending Offeror’s proposal or rescind its contract award. Offerors must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. An Offeror who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Offeror personnel may be disqualified.

I-20. Issuing Office Participation. Offerors shall provide all services, supplies, facilities, and other support necessary to complete the identified work.

I-21. Term of Contract. The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and shall end upon the set Termination Date. The term of the Contract will be for three (3) years with a Commission option for two (2) one-year renewals. The Commission option for any or all of the two (2), one-year renewals shall be at the sole discretion of the Commission. The Issuing Office will fix the Effective Date and Termination Date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Offeror and by the Commonwealth and all approvals required by Commonwealth contracting procedures have been obtained. The selected Offeror shall not start the performance of any work prior to the Effective Date of the contract and neither the Commission nor the Commonwealth shall not be liable to pay the selected Offeror for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the Effective Date of the contract.

I-22. Offeror’s Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Offeror understands, represents, and acknowledges that:

A. All of the Offeror’s information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contract(s). The Commonwealth shall treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the Proposal submission, punishable pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904.

B. The Offeror has arrived at the price(s) and amounts in its proposal independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other Offeror or potential offeror.

C. The Offeror has not disclosed the price(s), the amount of the proposal, nor the approximate price(s) or amount(s) of its proposal to any other firm or person who is an Offeror or potential offeror for this RFP, and the Offeror shall not disclose any of these items on or before the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of this RFP.

D. The Offeror has not attempted, nor will it attempt, to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract, or to submit a proposal higher than this proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal or other form of complementary proposal.

E. The Offeror makes its proposal in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.

F. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror, the Offeror, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four (4) years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Offeror has disclosed in its proposal.

G. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror and except as the Offeror has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Offeror has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any state tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Offeror that is owed to the Commonwealth.

H. The Offeror is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other state or the federal government, and if the Offeror cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make such certification.

I. The Offeror has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.

J. Each Offeror, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Offeror's Pennsylvania taxes, unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation liabilities.

K. Until the selected Offeror receives a fully executed and approved written contract from the Issuing Office, there is no legal and valid contract, in law or in equity, and the Offeror shall not begin to perform.

L. The Offeror is not currently engaged and will not during the duration of the contract engage, in a boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a jurisdiction which the Commonwealth is not prohibited by Congressional statute from engaging in trade or commerce.

I-23. Notification of Selection.

A. Contract Negotiations. The Issuing Office will notify all Offerors in writing of the Offeror selected for contract negotiations after the Issuing Office has determined, taking into consideration all evaluation factors, the proposal that is the most advantageous to the Issuing Office.

B. Award. Offerors whose proposals are not selected will be notified when contract negotiations have been successfully completed and the Issuing Office has received the final negotiated contract signed by the selected Offeror.

I-24. Debriefing Conferences. Upon notification of award, Offerors whose proposals were not selected will be given the opportunity to be debriefed. The Issuing Office will schedule the debriefing at a mutually agreeable time. The debriefing will not compare the Offeror with other Offerors, other than the position of the Offeror’s proposal in relation to all other Offeror proposals. An Offeror’s exercise of the opportunity to be debriefed does not constitute nor toll the time for filing a protest (See Section I-25).

I-25. RFP Protest Procedure. The RFP Protest Procedure is on the DGS website at http://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt1/Pt%20I%20C h%2058%20Bid%20Protests.pdf. A protest by a party that has not or has not yet submitted a proposal must be filed no later than the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of the RFP. Offerors may file a protest within seven (7) days after the protesting Offeror knows or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but in no event may an Offeror file a protest later than seven (7) days after the date the notice of award of the contract is posted. The date of filing is the date of receipt of the protest. A protest must be filed in writing with the Issuing Office. To be timely, the protest must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the seventh day.

https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt1/Pt%20I%20Ch%2058%20Bid%20Protests.pdf https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt1/Pt%20I%20Ch%2058%20Bid%20Protests.pdf

I-26. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If an Offeror electronically accepts the RFP, the Offeror acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to ensure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of a conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the Issuing Office’s version of the RFP, the Issuing Office’s version shall govern.

I-27. Payment. Total payments under this contract will not exceed the total cost quoted in the proposal. The total cost may be exceeded only if the Contractor, the Contracting Entity or the Commission’s Project Officer, prior to incurring such additional expenses and the Commission approves, before the expenses are incurred, the Contract expenditures up to that date and such additional expenditures. Contractor shall submit invoices to the Project Officer for incurred expenses of the past month by the 20th of the month.

Contractor may not bill for expenses that have not been incurred. Indicating expenses in the manner of the tasks or groups of tasks that were put forth in the Proposal. Invoices will itemize the employees who worked during the month, their hours and billable rates, as well as itemizing travel, lodging and meal expenses. Materials and other expenses exceeding $200 will be itemized; remaining expenses need not be itemized. Upon receipt of Contractor’s invoices, the Project Officer will forward copies of the invoices to the Issuing Officer, the Commission’s Chief Counsel and Director of the Bureau of Administration for review of invoices and payment.

PART II

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

II-1. Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must:

A. Be timely received from an Offeror (see Part I, Section I-10); and

B. Be properly signed by the Offeror (see Part I, Section I-11A); and

C. Contain a completed SDB Participation Submittal (SDB-2) (which must include the SDB Utilization Schedule (SDB-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (SDB 4 and SDB-5), or both); and either (a) agree to meet the SDB participation goal in full or (b) receive an approved waiver from any unmet portion of the SDB participation goal; and

D. Contain a completed VBE participation submittal (VBE-2) (which must include the VBE Utilization Schedule (VBE-3), Good Faith Efforts Documentation to Support Waiver Request (VBE 4 and VBE-5), or both); and either (a) agree to meet the VBE participation goal in full or (b) receive an approved waiver from any unmet portion of the VBE participation goal.

II-2. Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The mandatory responsiveness requirements set forth in Section II-1 above are the only RFP requirements that the Commonwealth will consider to be non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to

(1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in an Offeror’s proposal, (2) allow the Offeror to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Offeror’s proposal.

II-3. Evaluation. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals. The Issuing Office will then notify in writing of its selection for negotiation the responsible Offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the Commonwealth as determined by the Issuing Office after taking into consideration all the evaluation factors.

The Commonwealth will not score the SDB and VBE Participation Submittals. Rather, Offerors must commit to meeting the SDB and VBE participation goals or make good faith efforts to meet the SDB and VBE participation goal as more fully explained in Part V.

Although the SDB and VBE Participation Submittals will not be scored, the Issuing Office, in conjunction with BDISBO when necessary, will evaluate the SDB Participation Submittal, the VBE Participation Submittal, and additional required documentation to determine whether they have been completed in accordance with Part V and Part VIII of this RFP, and in a manner that demonstrates the Offeror is responsive and responsible.

II-4. Evaluation Criteria. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal:

A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 65 % of the total points. Evaluation will be based upon the following:

1. Work Plan. Evaluation of your work plan including soundness of approach to perform as the Resource Adequacy Consultant.

2. Prior Experience with Public Policy Clients. Evaluation of prior projects, both for the company and/or for specific personnel assigned to the project. Work completed more recently will carry greater weight than older (10+ years ago) work.

3. Personnel Qualifications. Evaluation of expertise, educational, work experience, and technical capability of personnel assigned to the project. Please pay particular attention to describing leadership/project management staff qualifications.

The final Technical scores are determined by giving the maximum number of technical points available to the proposal(s) with the highest raw technical score. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Technical Scoring Formula set forth at the following webpage: RFP Scoring Formula | Procurement Resources | Department of General Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

B. Cost: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 35 % of the total points. The cost criterion is rated by giving the proposal with the lowest total cost the maximum number of Cost points available. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Cost Formula set forth at the following webpage:

RFP Scoring Formula | Procurement Resources | Department of General Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The total price not-to-exceed cost for the entire contract must be clearly provided as a total contract cost.

C. Domestic Workforce Utilization: Any points received for the Domestic Workforce Utilization criterion are bonus points in addition to the total points for this RFP. The maximum amount of bonus points available for this criterion is 3% of the total points.

To the extent permitted by the laws and treaties of the United States, each proposal will be scored for its commitment to use domestic workforce in the fulfillment of the contract. Maximum consideration will be given to those Offerors who will perform the contracted direct labor exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of a country that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Those who propose to perform a portion of the direct labor outside of the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement will receive a correspondingly smaller score for this criterion.

See the following webpage for the Domestic Workforce Utilization Formula:

RFP Scoring Formula | Procurement Resources | Department of General Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Materials-Services-Procurement/Procurement-Resources/Pages/RFP_SCORING_FORMULA.aspx

D. Iran Free Procurement Certification and Disclosure. Prior to entering a contract worth at least $1,000,000 or more with a Commonwealth entity, an offeror must: a) certify it is not on the current list of persons engaged in investment activities in Iran created by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (“DGS”) pursuant to Section 3503 of the Procurement Code and is eligible to contract with the Commonwealth under Sections 3501-3506 of the Procurement Code; or b) demonstrate it has received an exception from the certification requirement for that solicitation or contract pursuant to Section 3503(e). All offerors must complete and return the Iran Free Procurement Certification form, (Appendix C, Iran Free Procurement Certification Form), which is attached hereto and made part of this RFP. The completed and signed Iran Free Procurement Certification form must be submitted as part of the Technical Submittal.

See the following web page for current Iran Free Procurement list:

Iran-Free Procurement List | Procurement Resources | Department of General Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

II-5. Offeror Responsibility. To be responsible, an Offeror must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract.

For an Offeror to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for selection for best and final offers or selection for contract negotiations:

A. The total score for the technical submittal of the Offeror’s proposal must be greater than or equal to 75% of the available technical points; and

B. The Issuing Office will award a contract only to an Offeror determined to be responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program.

II-6. Final Ranking and Award.

A. After any best and final offer process conducted, the Issuing Office will combine the evaluation committee’s final technical scores, the final cost scores, and (when applicable) the domestic workforce utilization scores, in accordance with the relative weights assigned to these areas as set forth in this Part.

B. The Issuing Office will rank responsible offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order.

C. The Issuing Office must select for contract negotiations the offeror with the highest overall score.

D. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.

https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/ProposedIranFreeProcurementList.pdf https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/ProposedIranFreeProcurementList.pdf

PART III

TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL

III-1. Statement of the Project. This Section of the RFP identifies in detail the work that will need to be performed by the Resource Adequacy Consultant.

The Commission issued this RFP to retain the services of a contractor who will perform certain functions necessary for evaluating the methodologies, data and assumptions used by electric distribution companies (EDCs) when developing and submitting load forecasts to the PJM and for evaluating electricity resource adequacy in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and PJM territories over the next twenty (20) years so that policymakers, including but not limited to the Commission, may have an assessment independent and separate from PJM regarding load forecasting. TUS seeks to retain the services of an independent contractor who will perform as the Commission’s Resource Adequacy Consultant. The Commission has been charged by the Pennsylvania General Assembly through the Pennsylvania Public Utility Code to ensure that electric utilities furnish and maintain adequate, efficient, safe, reasonable service, and make all such repairs, changes, alterations, substitutions, extensions, and improvements in or to such service and facilities as shall be necessary or proper for the accommodation, convenience, and safety of its patrons, employees, and the public. Such service also shall be reasonably continuous and without unreasonable interruptions or delay. 66 Pa.C.S. § 1501.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) published its 2025 Long- Term Reliability Assessment (2025 LTRA) in January of 2026.1 The 2025 LTRA consisted of reliability assessments of the Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) that manage bulk electric systems, including PJM. NERC concluded that PJM’s Anticipated Reserve Margin (ARM) may fall below its Installed Reserve Requirement (or RML) in 2029 when the ARM falls below 19% and the RML reaches 24%.2 This means that the anticipated available resources may fall short of the reserve capacity required to reliably meet peak electricity demand. NERC noted that PJM faces an extreme and rapid tightening of supply and demand for capacity resources in the near term and needs additional resources to rapidly address its near-term reliability challenges. NERC also noted that PJM will be heavily reliant on good generation performance from both fossil and inverter-based generation to avoid or minimize the need for emergency procedures and that the greatest risk is still during the summer peak period.

Thus, the trend of narrowing margins of reserve capacity in the PJM footprint prompted the Commission to hold a Technical Conference on Resource Adequacy at Commission Docket No. M-2024-3051988, on November 25, 2024, wherein it received many comments from stakeholders. Upon due consideration of these comments, as well as various reports including the January 2025, PJM Long-Term Load Forecasting Report, which contained projections of peak load, net energy, load management, etc., the Commission issued an

1 NERC, 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, January 2026, modified on February 24, 2026, available at:

https://www.nerc.com/globalassets/our-work/assessments/nerc_ltra_2025.pdf.

2 Id., Page 92.

https://www.nerc.com/globalassets/our-work/assessments/nerc_ltra_2025.pdf

RFP for a consultant to analyze electric resource adequacy within the PJM Interconnection LLC territory and also specifically within the borders of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The completed report of that consultant made clear that it was in the interest of the Commission to issue a subsequent RFP covering multiple years in order to keep the Commission informed on long-term load forecasts and how those may adjust over time and as new dynamics impact PJM and EDCs.3

The Commission desires to have a contractor continue to complete annual studies and forecasts of load and capacity PJM by September 1st for each year of the contract. Load adjustments for large, unanticipated load changes, market adjustments and peak shaving adjustments showing growth in data center load and other factors driving projections upwards should be considered in these studies. The studies should evaluate probabilities for load growth and should account for load growth over the next twenty (20) years as well as changes to electric generation capacity, including resource additions, power purchase agreements for 100 MW or greater of excess capacity at or nearby generation facilities, retirements, and planned retirements from the grid. The resulting annual studies will be used by the Commission and other Pennsylvania policy makers, including the General Assembly and the Governor’s Offices of Policy and Critical Infrastructure, as they consider ways to address electric system challenges over the next twenty (20) years.

The Commission is also seeking assistance from the Contractor for the Commission’s responsibilities under House Bill 416, known as Act 45 of 2025. Act 45 amends the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, by serving as the omnibus legislation necessary to effectuate implementation of the Commonwealth’s Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. Pursuant to Act 45, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacted Article XVIII-B titled Electricity Load Forecast Accountability declaring that Commission oversight of electric load forecasts is necessary to provide information on projections for significant growth in electricity demand driven by data centers, vehicle and building electrification, and other large load customer additions.

Act 45 directs the PaPUC to investigate and evaluate the methodologies, data and assumptions used by EDCs when developing and submitting load forecasts to PJM.

Additionally, the Commission is required to submit, by June 30th of each year, an annual report to the Chairperson and Minority Chairperson of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee of the Senate and the Chairperson and Minority Chairperson of the Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee of the House of Representatives on the implementation of Article XVIII-B and to post the Commission’s Annual Report for Act 45 on a publicly accessible internet website.

In this regard, the Commission desires to have the contractor assist the Commission with evaluation of the methodologies, data and assumptions used by EDCs when developing and submitting load forecasts to PJM, a similar evaluation of PJM’s Long-Term Load Forecast, and for the contractor to complete a written summary report for delivery to the

3 https://www.synapse-energy.com/assessing-electricity-resource-adequacy-pennsylvania-and-pjm…