Q and A.docx

RPF # S-DASOBO-00012296 Home Energy Rebate Programs Administrative Services

Questions and Answers

1. Per Section 2.3.3 (Page 9), administrative costs are capped at 20% of HEAR/HOMES funds. Could ODOE clarify: What percentage of this administrative funding will be allocated to state staff positions vs contractor budgets? What specific roles/responsibilities will state staff retain vs delegate to contractors?

A: Approximately 79% of the available administrative funding is reserved for both administrator’s (Energy Trust and the apparent successful Proposer of this RFP) administrative costs. The administrative funding used by ODOE is primarily for grant management, customer service and education, consumer protection, and overall program management for the HOMES and HEAR programs.

4. Regarding Section 6.1 Commitment to DEI (Page 23) and Executive Order 13985: Will the state place any emphasis on DEI beyond what is stated about income qualification in the text of the Inflation Reduction Act?

A: : Section 6.1 encourages all interested businesses to submit proposals for the contracting opportunity and makes no reference to Executive Order 13985. The state has no expectations beyond what is set forth in the RFP and accompanying contract for services, but will rely upon guidance from the US DOE regarding compliance with applicable federal requirements and will uphold Oregon state law.

5. Regarding Section 2.4 Scope (Page 10) coordination with multifamily/retailers: What is ODOE's priority level for serving multifamily vs single-family housing?

A: Regarding priority for multifamily homes, ODOE has set aside a minimum of 10% of HOMES rebate funds and 20% of HEAR rebate funds for low-income multifamily households.

6. Per Section 2.3.2 (Page 8) collaboration with Energy Trust: Does the ODOE have any plans or intent to braid HOMES/HEAR funding with WAP, utility incentives, Solar for All, or other related programs?

A: The administrator will be responsible for developing resources and helping applicants understand how to combine the HOMES and HEAR rebates with other available funding sources (including WAP, utility incentives, and others) to help applicants (especially low-income) cover 100% of project costs. ODOE does not intend for the administrator to help braid HOMES/HEAR rebates with funding for energy generation projects, including solar, though participants in the HOMES/HEAR programs may receive targeted outreach from other programs (if they agree to share their contact info with other programs).

7. Per Section 2.3.2 Project Background (Page 7): Can ODOE share current drafts of the Implementation Blueprint components (Consumer Protection Plan, Community Benefits Plan, etc.) referenced in the US DOE requirements?

A: ODOE will publish drafts of the plans for public input before submission to US DOE for approval; however, ODOE is still in the drafting process for most of these documents and will not be able to publish them before this RFP period closes.

8. Per Section 2.3.2 Project Background (Page 7): Are there opportunities for proposers to provide input on blueprint elements before final submission?

A: The selected administrator will be able to review and provide input on blueprint elements before ODOE submits the final blueprint to US DOE.

9. Regarding Section 2.4 Scope of Work (Page 10) and Community Benefits Plan requirements: Does Oregon plan to reimburse or incentivize trade ally contractors serving rural areas or disadvantaged communities?

A: Per the IRA and US DOE program requirements, ODOE has set aside funding for both programs to provide $200 incentives to contractors who complete projects in disadvantaged communities.

10. Regarding Section 2.3.3 Project Funding (Page 9): Can ODOE share the DOE-required budget workbooks showing current administrative cost allocations across program components?

A: Additional details of the cost breakdown of grant funds have been made available in the grant narrative documents on the ODOEs Home Energy Rebates (HERs) webpage. Copies of the HOMES and HEAR budget documents are downloadable using the webpage links below.

HOMES: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incentives/Documents/DE-SE0000059-Oregon-50121-Budget-Justification-June-Updates-1.xlsx HEAR: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incentives/Documents/DE-SE0000115-Oregon-50122-Budget-Justification-June-Updates-1.xlsx Please note that the budget tranche dates are no longer accurate in the currently accepted budget, and ODOE expects these to be removed when US DOE modifies the award.

11. Regarding Section 6.2 Certified Firm Participation (Page 23) and Section 4.10.2 Evaluation Criteria (Pages 16-18): Does COBID certification status itself have any impact on scoring/ evaluation of proposals?

A: No

15. What % of the admin funds identified in the DOE-approved narrative documents will ODOE utilize internally?

A: ODOE has reserved approximately 19% of administrative funding for ODOE staff, procurement of a rebate management system, and external auditing services. An additional 2% in administrative funding has been reserved for DAC incentives. Approximately 79% of the available administrative funding is reserved for both administrator’s (Energy Trust and the apparent successful Proposer) administrative costs.

16. Can proposers have access to the DOE-approved budget referred to as Attachment 3 of the Award in Exhibit C?

A: Copies of the HOMES and HEAR budget documents are downloadable using the webpage links below.

HOMES: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incentives/Documents/DE-SE0000059-Oregon-50121-Budget-Justification-June-Updates-1.xlsx HEAR: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incentives/Documents/DE-SE0000115-Oregon-50122-Budget-Justification-June-Updates-1.xlsx Please note that the budget tranche dates are no longer accurate in the currently accepted budget, and ODOE expects these to be removed when US DOE modifies the award.

17. The HOMES/HEAR DOE-approved narrative documents include specific budget details across several cost categories. Is the expectation that the contractor will need to follow these cost estimates or is the State expecting that these costs will change and be resubmitted to DOE?

A: Any funding for non-administrative categories must align with the state’s budget details. While not required, bidders are encouraged to align the administrative costs described in their price proposals with the accepted narrative program priorities, to include the cost categories. However, in the event a successful bidder’s implementation plan and price proposal differs from the cost categories outlined in the narrative, ODOE will resubmit the narrative to US DOE for approval if required.

18. How is the total program funding for the state allocated across IOU and COU programs (E.g. what percentage)? The DOE-approved narrative document includes a calculation of 44%/56% - is this correct across the entire program?

A: Exclusive of funding ODOE has reserved for agency use (for administrative costs, auditing, and procurement of a rebate management system), the remaining total program funding is allocated as described in the DOE-approved narrative: 44% to IOU and 56% COU.

19. Are the hourly rates to be quoted in the Price Proposal to be based on a fixed formula of wage+fringe+indirect or a simply fully-loaded rates?

A: Please provide hourly rates that are based on a fixed formula of wage, fringe, and overhead.

20. ODOE highlights that the program intends to use the DOE Rebate Tracking System and its accompanying coupon feature. Will the coupon generator interface be developed by the ODOE online rebate management system developer?

A: ODOE anticipates that the rebate application portal for Oregon will be developed by the online rebate management system developer, with input from and in consultation with ODOE program staff and both administrators. The rebate management system will integrate with the US DOE API and retailer POS coupons to track rebate reservations and ensure that no duplicate rebates are redeemed.

21. Since the DOE Rebate Tracking System does not verify income eligibility, does ODOE anticipate/expect that the online rebate management system it is procuring to provide to implementers will have the means to capture income eligibility documentation, certify if the customer participates in a prequalifying program such as LIHTC, SNAP etc. and or provide access to prequalified customers?

The intent is that the online rebate management system will collect income eligibility documentation from households, and that documentation will be made available to administrator for eligibility verification. Even if pre-qualification can be verified using the technology solution, qualification documentation will still be provided to the administrator for verification and quality assurance purposes.

22. Given overlapping geographies, will the point-of-sale rebate system utilized in ETO territory also be used in COU territory?

A: In order to ensure a consistent experience for all participants, including retailers, ODOE anticipates that the point-of-sale processes will be the same throughout the state.

23. How will the income verification of a participant connect into the online rebate management system ODOE is in the process of procuring in order to create a reservation coupon?

A: Income verification documentation will be collected with the rebate application and then will need to be verified before a reservation is approved or a coupon is issued. Automated verification for certain pre-qualifying applicants may be possible using the system, but it is most likely that income verification will need to be done by the administrator.

24. The RFP states Work Samples must be completed. Can ongoing programs be used as work samples?

A: Yes.

25. For incentive payments to be paid, what is the definition of contractor and installer? For example, in the CHPDP program the contractor might be a community action agency and the installer is a HVAC subcontractor.

A: Both contractors and installers who help households access funding and complete projects may qualify for an installation incentive.

26. Is the difference between rebates and incentives exactly as in the DOE-approved narratives?

A: Yes.

27. Can an implementer propose to complete the project in less than 7 years?

A: Yes. The administrator is expected to distribute all rebates and complete all other requirements by September 30, 2031, as established by the Inflation Reduction Act.

28. The RFP_Attachment_A _Contract_For_Services page 28 indicates that the implementor is responsible for rebate processing including applications, verification of requirements, risk management and reporting, payments, coupons and assessments. Can you clarify if payment includes issuing the rebate/incentive checks and how that process is expected to interact with the online rebate management system ODOE is in the process of procuring?

The administrator will be responsible for issuing any rebate or incentive checks. The rebate management system will be where the administrator tracks each application for rebate(s) including issuing rebate payments, whether an incentive is associated with the rebate, and when and to whom incentives are paid.

29. Is the Contractor expected to support finalization of all Blueprint documents (Narrative Documents, Plans) as part of the Implementation Plan development?

The administrator will be asked to review and provide input on the implementation blueprint before it is submitted. This review will be focused on ensuring that the administrator’s proposed plan aligns with the implementation blueprint plans and to provide an opportunity for the administrator to suggest changes to the implementation blueprint to better align with proposed processes.

30. Phase 1, Task 1 states that the Contractor will 'work closely with Agency and Energy Trust to ensure consistency...across the state'. In what specific areas is consistency expected? For example, this could be the website, marketing and outreach, application process, income verification, process for qualifying contractors, home assessment processes, modeled savings estimation methods, and/or QA processes.

Statewide program consistency is particularly important from the perspective of participants and contractors accessing the program, so use of the online rebate management system, consistent marketing information, contractor and program requirements, quality assurance efforts, timeliness of processing applications and rebates, etc., will be the focus of this requirement.

31. Phase 1, Task 1 states 'coordinate with COU's, IPC, Community Action Agencies, other states agencies and other relevant organizations'. Similar question for coordination with Energy Trust, what is the scope of this coordination, over which areas of the program is coordination expected?

For many participants, particularly low- and moderate-income participants, project completion will be dependent on leveraging all available funding resources to fully fund the energy efficiency or electrification project. The administrator will be expected to communicate with local organizations that are doing similar energy efficiency work in the service area to ensure that the administrator can connect participants to other resources and share program information as needed. This may involve strategically planning rebate stacking or braiding in cooperation with those organizations. In addition, ODOE has determined that energy savings from the HOMES and HEAR programs will be attributed to the local utility, so the administrator will be expected to coordinate with the local utilities to share information about work completed in their service area as needed to support the attribution of savings.

32. Has the state or Energy Trust started engagement with retailers to develop and enable a retail POS process? Is there an expectation for how many retailers are expected to connect and participate in the program?

The State has done some initial work with retailers and has a draft workflow for the retail point-of-sale process. There is also an opportunity to disburse rebates for contractor installed projects at the distributor level. Finalizing this process and which retailers (and/or distributors) will participate will be done in coordination with both administrators and the retailers or distributors that choose to participate in the program. Three of the larger general hardware retailers in the state have indicated their interest in the program, as have some smaller specialty retailers and distributors.

33. Is the Contractor expected to budget for and conduct evaluation activities or will this be separately budgeted and managed by an independent 3rd party as indicated in the DOE-approved narratives?

A: Program auditing and evaluation will be conducted by an independent third party and US DOE, respectively. The administrator is still responsible for project quality control and quality assurance activities including inspection requirements for projects receiving rebates. The administrator will be responsible for quality assurance inspections of completed projects.

34. Phase 2 tasks and deliverables including monthly reporting on achievements towards low income and multi-family reporting. Is the expectation that these targets will be achieved monthly, annually, or over the duration of the program?

A: ODOE has not set specific dates to achieve the performance targets described in Phase 2, Task 1 of the sample contract. The deliverables outlined in Task 1 are the monthly progress reports that demonstrate the noted percentage of total rebate funding that has been reserved and/or issued to low-income and low-income multifamily projects. These deliverables will be used to ensure the state is on track to meet the program goals; if the goals are not on track, ODOE may issue guidance to the administrator that will help ensure the programs’ targets and goals are achieved.

35. For the draft Implementation Plan, is the Contractor expected to leverage the IOU draft Implementation Plan, or develop an entirely new plan?

A: Contractor would be expected to develop their own plan to submit in response to this RFP. The contractor may leverage the publicly available application narrative documents ODOE developed in consultation with the IOU administrator as they develop their implementation plan. This applies to the Implementation Plan to be submitted by the selected contractor after contract signing.

36. What is the expected development and launch timeline of the Oregon online rebate management system that is being procured separately?

A: The timeline for the development and launch of the rebate management system is still uncertain; however, ODOE intends to release the RFP in the spring of 2025 and to develop the system and prepare for launch in the fall of 2025.

37. Do all insurance requirements flow down to the prime administrator subcontractors? If subcontractors do not have access to customer data do all insurance requirements apply?

A: Generally, yes. Any permitted subcontractors must have a subcontract that includes provisions ensuring that the Agency receive the benefit of subcontractor’s performance as if the subcontractor were the Contractor. This would apply to the insurance provisions. Though there could be situations where the scope of the subcontract approved does not require all types of insurance, ODOE cannot make this determination in advance.

38. Can SPS negotiate following exceptions to future contract: Confidential Information (11.1), Non-Disclosure (11.2), Publicity (11.5), Claims (12.1),12.4, Limitation of Liability (13.1), and Remedies Cumulative (15.3)?

A. It is unlikely that the State will accept revisions to these standard provisions.

39. Question Numbers 2-3 and 12-14 were submitted but no questions were noted.

A. Not applicable.