RFP 240000000759 Home Energy Q and A.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 26 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- RFP 761 240000000759 2
- Issued by
- Grand Traverse County, Lansing City, Michigan
About this file
This file is a Questions and Answers document related to RFP 240000000759 issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for planning services to design the Home Energy Rebate (HER) program under Section 50121 of the Inflation Reduction Act. The RFP seeks a contractor to develop a comprehensive implementation plan, program design elements, and supporting materials for Michigan's home energy efficiency rebate program. Key deliverables include stakeholder engagement (minimum 6 regional in-person sessions and at least 2 virtual sessions), identification of complementary funding programs, development of contracting materials for third-party implementors, and submission of a final implementation plan by June 2024. The contract is for program design only, with an expected contract period of two years from award. The project timeline requires completion of stakeholder engagement by April 30, 2024, program design elements and final application narrative by June 2024, and program launch by September 2024 or Q1 of fiscal year 2025 at the latest.
The award is time and materials, with bidders required to submit pricing on Schedule B as provided in the RFP, though alternate pricing structures may be submitted alongside the standard schedule. Michigan was awarded and has available the full amount of early planning administrative funds from the Inflation Reduction Act for this work. The selected contractor will be prohibited from applying as a third-party implementor but may subcontract with future implementation vendors. EGLE intends to award separate contracts to two different vendors—one for this Section 50121 program and one for the Section 50122 program—to ensure diversity, dedicated vendor focus, and separate fund accounting. Both vendors are expected to collaborate on planning, program design, and DOE application materials. Minimum qualifications may be satisfied through prime contractor experience, subcontractor experience, or key personnel qualifications, including three or more years of experience administering at least one similar rebate program. Travel expenses will not be paid, and overtime and holiday pay are excluded from compensation.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. RFP 240000000759 Home Energy Rebate Planning.docx | DOCX document | |
| RFP 240000000759 Home Energy Rebate Planning.docx | DOCX document |
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Sheet1
| Q # | Document and Section | Page # | Bidder Question | EGLE Response |
| 1 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 4.1 Price Term | 28 | Pricing term is for the entire length of the contract. Is the expected contract period 2 years? | Yes |
| 2 | N/A | N/A | Does the State have a desired project duration or target completion date? | Two years after contract start date |
| 3 | Schedule B - Pricing | 32 | Is this award time and Materials? | Yes |
| 4 | Schedule B - Pricing | 32 | Will the State accept a pricing structure that consolidates personnel and Fringe into a single bill rate by project role? | Bidders should complete and submit Schedule B Pricing as provided in the RFP, but can submit an alternate pricing schedule with their proposal. |
| 5 | N/A | N/A | Has the State of Michigan applied for and receive approval for the early administrative program funding? | Yes |
| 6 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 2.1 Contractor Representative and Standard Terms and Conditions #4 Program Manager | 23 and 35 | Can the State please distinguish between the role of the Contractor representative in section 2.1 and the Program Manager in section 4? | The Contractor representative is the person assigned to respond to EGLE inquiries. The Program Manager is the person who works with EGLE to accomplish the contract activities. This may be the same person. |
| 7 | Schedule A -Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21 | Are the Coordinated Program Delivery, Workforce needs and connection to the DOE Training for Residential Energy Contractors and Energy Auditor programs. Capacity, Consumer Outreach & Education section limited to Plann | Yes |
| 8 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21 | What is the State's definition of a Third Party Implementor in the context of this solicitation? | Third Party Implementor will be contracts/grants executed for the program portion of HER funds to implement the plan. |
| 9 | N/A | N/A | Can the State elaborate on why they have issued two separate RFPs for these programs? Please include the desired benefits of separate vendors/contracts. Or is the State intending to hire the same vendor for both RFPs? | The State would prefer to hire two separate vendors. This will ensure diversity, a dedicated vendor for each program as well as simplify keeping funds separate. |
| 10 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21 | Develop contracting materials and mechanisms for third party program implementation. Note: selected contractor will not be eligible to apply as a third party implementor" Is the selected vendor to de | Correct, planning contractors will not be eligible to implement. |
| 11 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21 | Can the state confirm that consumer outreach and education will include marketing support through the life of the contract? | TBD. Marketing support may be through the life of the contract, or will be identified as part of the implementation plan for a separate contract. |
| 12 | Schedule B - Pricing | 32-33 | Would the state be amenable to a pricing sheet that lists a firm fix price, along with an hours and rates breakdown by position to indicate our level of effort estimates? For example, Resource, On-Site Hourly Rate, Off-Site Hourly Rate, etc. | Bidders should complete and submit Schedule B Pricing as provided in the RFP, but can submit an alternate pricing schedule with their proposal. |
| 13 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requrements: Deliverables #3 and Section 7 Service Level Agreements | 22 and 30 | Please confirm that the “Final Implementation Plan” referenced in Sections 1 & 7 is separate and distinct from the US DOE required Implementation Blueprint and is intended to describe and guide the implementation of the rebate program in the implementation phase of the work. | Confirmed - Michigan has elected to not use the DOE Blueprints and the Final Implementation Plan will be separate and distinct from those Blueprints. |
| 14 | Sec. 1 under Deliverables #4 and also Sec. 7 under Service Level Agreements | 22 and 30 | Is the State asking potential vendors to identify funds other than US DOE administrative and/or rebate funds being allocated to Michigan for the Section 50121 program to plan for and/or implement any aspect of the Section 50121 program? | Yes, vendors will be asked to look at the program comprehensively and identify how other funding sources can support HER in Michigan. |
| 15 | Sec. 1 under Deliverables #4 and also Sec. 7 under Service Level Agreements | 22 and 30 | Please identify and/or describe the tribal and local government and workforce functions and/or activities related to the Section 50121 program anticipated to be funded through “proposed supplemental funding programs?” | There are existing programs in MI that will complement the HER programs, such as in Holland (https://hollandenergyfund.com), Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. This deliverable aims to identify other similar programs in the state that can be leveraged with, and expanded through, the HER programs. |
| 16 | Sec. 1 under Deliverables # 4, and also Sec. 7 under Service Level Agreements | 22 and 30 | Does the state anticipate using the separate federal funds that US DOE is specifically allocating to Tribal governments to plan for and implement any aspect of the Section 50121 rebate program for Tribes in Michigan? | The State is anticipating that multiple funding sources will overlap for different aspects of the implementation of the HER programs. |
| 17 | Context: Context: In December, 2023, the US Department of Energy (DOE) issued the “Home Efficiency Rebates Program: Sample Application Responses and Guidance" providing example responses and additional guidance to assist a state in applying for and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Home Rebate Program(s) in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative and Legal Requirements Document and the Program Requirements & Application Instructions. This Sample Application includes 78 questions to be completed by the state in its application for both the Home Efficiency (Sec. 50121) and Home Electrification and Appliance (Sec. 50122) programs. | N/A | Given the DOE program application is a single application for both programs, in issuing two separate RFPs, does the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) contemplate awarding two vendors, one for each program? |
| If so, does EGLE plan to integrate the deliverables from each vendor into a single application to the DOE or does EGLE expect vendors to jointly develop the application material for the DOE? | While DOE provided a sample application for both programs, each State is still required to submit two separate applications in PAGE to DOE. Michigan is contemplating awarding to two separate vendors, one for each program. EGLE does intend that both vendors will collaborate on planning, program design and DOE application material as needed. | ||||
| 18 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Capacity | 21 | Does the state plan to preclude subcontractors and teaming partners of the selected vendor from implementation? | No | |
| 19 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Coordinated Program Delivery | 20 | Please clarify if the scope of work of the selected vendor includes providing ongoing program management support to EGLE during the implementation of the rebates programs after submission of the Final State Implementation Plan and corresponding contracting/granting materials and mechanisms for third party program implementation are completed? | Ongoing program management support may inclued stakeholder engagement during rollout, presentations on program design, draft contracting scopes for implementation, and evaluation of implementation roll out. | |
| 20 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Coordinated Program Delivery | 20 | Please clarify if EGLE plans to implement a technology platform to support the delivery of the rebates program and should our proposed approach include the evaluation, selection and implementation of a technology platform? | Selected vendors should identify if EGLE will need to implement a technology platform, and if so, should provide needed support for the evaluation, and selection of a technology platform. | |
| 21 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 3.3 Reporting | 28 | Because IRA Energy Rebate programs 50121 are new and no quarterly and annual reports have been filed to date, is it appropriate to attach examples of similar federally required quarterly and annual reports that the vendor has filed with federal agencies? | Yes | |
| 22 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Capacity | 21 | Section 1.1 contains a requirement for the State's implementation plan to include procedures and/or open-source software, respectively, for determining home energy use using both a modeled and a measured performance basis. Does EGLE intend to utilize both modeled and measured program paths for Section 50121 rebates, while complying with Section 50121 program requirements that no single address can receive both a measured and a modeled rebate, or will the use of modeled vs. measured program paths be decided during the Phase I strategy portion of the work? | Yes | |
| 23 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Workforce Needs | 20 | The first bullet under the Workforce Needs states: "Identify needs of residential contractor training programs as it relates to implementing HER programs in Michigan." Please confirm that for Sec 50121 proposal it should be HEER programs. | Given that DOE has changed the acronyms several times, Michigan refers to both 50121 and 50122 either by the full name/section number or generically as the "Home Energy Rebate" Programs (HER). | |
| 24 | Schedule B - Pricing | 32-33 | Many professional services firms have only commercial pricing available and cannot provide a cost breakdown into time and materials. Would the State consider allowing offerors to submit a pricing schedule per their commercial pricing practices that represents a total two-year cost? | Bidders should complete and submit Schedule B Pricing as provided in the RFP, but can submit an alternate pricing schedule with their proposal. | |
| 25 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | The state is seeking assistance with the design of the program and furthermore has indicated that the selected Contractor for this phase will not be eligible for implementation work. Given that the focus of this work is on design and not administration, would the state consider waiving these three minimum qualifications – which speak to implementation and administration experience - for this phase of work? | No. The selected vendor (or its subcontractor) must have some experience in implementing a rebate program. | |
| 26 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | The state may benefit from a combination of a prime Contractor with experience in designing home energy efficiency rebates and a subcontractor with implementation experience. Would state consider an RFP response to have satisfied these minimum qualifications if the responding team includes a subcontractor (not the prime itself) that meets these three minimum qualifications? | Yes. | |
| 27 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | Would the State consider an RFP response to have satisfied these minimum qualifications if the responding prime contractor has – as part of its key personnel or proposed team – individuals who meet these criteria (i.e., individuals who have 3+ years of experience administering 1 similar rebate program, etc.) | Yes. | |
| 28 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | Would the State consider an RFP response to have satisfied these minimum qualifications if the responding prime contractor has a subcontractor who has – as part of its team and/or its key personnel – individuals who meet these criteria (i.e., individuals who have 3+ years of experience administering 1 similar rebate program, etc.) | Yes | |
| 29 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | As it works to design this program, the state may benefit from both local and national expertise. Would the state consider a contractor to have satisfied this minimum qualification if the prime contractor has experience administering similar programs and/or assistance programs in another state, while a subcontractor has extensive experience serving the state of Michigan? | Yes | |
| 30 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements: Minimum Qualifications | 22 | As it works to design this program, the state may benefit from both local and national expertise. Would the state consider a contractor to have satisfied this minimum qualification if the prime contractor has extensive experience serving the state of Michigan, while a subcontractor has experience administering a rebate program in another state? r a contractor to have satisfied this minimum qualification if the prime contractor has experience administering similar programs and/or assistance programs in another state, while a subcontractor has extensive experience serving the state of Michigan? | Yes | |
| 31 | Schedule B - Pricing | 32-33 | Michigan has released a separate RFP for each component of the overall Home Energy Rebates program (RFP 240000000760 and RFP 240000000759). If a contractor wins both pieces of work, the contractor may gain efficiencies from scale that could lower the price to complete each scope of work (i.e., the cost to deliver both RFPs could be lower than the sum of the cost to deliver each RFP separately). When responding in Schedule B, would the state allow contractors to show both the price for completing a single scope of work and a second, optional (lower) price that would reflect the cost for that scope of work if the contractor were to win both RFPs? | No, the State will be required to report on funding separately for each program and needs to have clear lines of separation between both programs. | |
| 32 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21 | Implementation conflicts: The RFP states that the “selected contractor will not be eligible to apply as a third party implementor.” Would the state permit a subcontractor from this phase to later apply as a third party implementor (as either a prime or a subcontractor)? | Yes | |
| 33 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 18-20 | Please confirm if this RFP is for program design only. Should program implementation and administration be included in the fee estimate? | Program design only, implementation and administration should not be included. | |
| 34 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | If not, will EGLE release a separate RFP for implementation? If so, when will it be released? | Yes, EGLE will release separate implementation RFPs. It is estimated that this will be in the summer, will depend on when the planning is complete. | |
| 35 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Per the RFP, the Prime Contractor is prohibited from participating in implementation. Please confirm the winner of this bid cannot be involved with implementation? | Confirmed. | |
| 36 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Is a subcontractor to the prime contract on this opportunity eligible to participate in implementation? | Yes | |
| 37 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Can the Contractor on this opportunity act as a subcontractor during implementation? | Yes | |
| 38 | N/A | N/A | What is the total amount of funding or anticipated budget expected to be used for this project? | Michigan was awarded and has available the full amount eligible of early planning administrative funds. | |
| 39 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Has a third-party implementor already been selected? | No | |
| 37 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Would the selected vendor be eligible to subcontract with the selected third party implementor selected in the future? | Yes | |
| 37 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | What is the targeted timeline for implementation of the strategic plan produced as an outcome of these RFPs? (Program start Q4 2024?) | Q4 of FY24 is the goal, Q1 of FY25 at the latest. | |
| 37 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Does EGLE/State of Michigan expect the selected vendor for this solicitation to also be responsible for the oversight of program implementation? | No | |
| 37 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Does the requirement for separation between the selected vendor for planning and third-party implementation vendor apply to parent/child companies or organizations in a joint venture? | Yes | |
| 38 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | How much stakeholder engagement is reasonably expected to be conducted within the six-week time period from award announcement (February 27) and stated completion date (April 30)? | Estimated a minimum of 6 regional in-person sessions and at least 2 virtual sessions, with additional follow up meetings with specific audiences as needed. | |
| 39 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 21-22 | What is EGLE's expected timeline for completion of program design elements, final application narrative, and expected program launch? | Expected timeline for program design elements and final application narrative is June 2024, with expected program launch in September. | |
| 40 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Is there a targeted number of outreach sessions the State is aiming for with the named stakeholders? | Estimated a minimum of 6 regional in-person sessions and at least 2 virtual sessions, with additional follow up meetings with specific audiences as needed. | |
| 41 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | For the stakeholder events, does EGLE have any expectations for number, geography covered, representative sample of governments and/or utilities, etc.? | Estimated a minimum of 6 regional in-person sessions and at least 2 virtual sessions, with additional follow up meetings with specific audiences as needed. Attendees should include local governments, utilities, non-profits, residential contractors, suppliers, community based organizations, other state departments etc. | |
| 42 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Does EGLE have an anticipated timeline for completion of program design elements, submission of State Application, submission of State Implementation Blueprint, and expected program launch? | Expected timeline for program design elements and final application narrative is June 2024, with expected program launch in September. | |
| 43 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | For said stakeholder events, does EGLE have any expectations for in-person versus remote outreach sessions? | Estimated a minimum of 6 regional in-person sessions and at least 2 virtual sessions, with additional follow up meetings with specific audiences as needed. | |
| 44 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.1 General Requirements | 20 | Can EGLE provide clarification on expected or desired timeline for each stated deliverable? | Expected timeline for completion of engagement is April 2024, program design elements and final application narrative is June 2024, with expected program launch in September 2024. | |
| 45 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 2.2 Customer Service Toll-Free Number | 23 | Are respondents required to have a toll-free number established prior to award, or is this requirement for when contractor is under contract with the state? | This is not a requirement of the contract. The bidder should provide a phone number for inquiries even if it is not a toll-free number. | |
| 46 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 3.3 Reporting | 28 | Can EGLE elaborate on what it means by "complementary programs report (due date TBD)"? | There are existing programs in Michigan that will complement the HER programs, such as in Holland (https://hollandenergyfund.com), Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. The complementary programs report aims to identify other similar programs in the state that can be leveraged with, and expanded through, the HER programs. | |
| 47 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 1.2 Funding Requirements | 23 | Does lack of "experience with administering one or more rebate programs and/or assistance programs in Michigan" automatically disqualify respondents from consideration? | No. | |
| 48 | Schedule A Statement of Work Section 6.1 Invoice Requirements | 29 | Can EGLE clarify its statement that "travel expenses will not be paid"? This contradicts the request for pricing estimates related to travel expenses in Schedule B. | "Travel expenses" should have been removed from Section 6.1 in the RFP. The contract language will read "Overtime and holiday pay will not be paid". | |
| 49 | N/A | N/A | Can EGLE share an approximate desired budget range inclusive of all services/deliverables stated in the RFP? | Michigan was awarded and has available the full amount eligible of early planning administrative funds. |
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