AHEC-26919-Q - Campus Electrical Distribution System Compreh

The Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), a Colorado state entity, is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for consulting services to develop a comprehensive Campus Electrical Distribution System Plan for the 150-acre Auraria Campus in Denver, which serves approximately 43,000 students, faculty, and staff. The procuring jurisdictions are Denver County and Denver City in Colorado. The primary deliverables include a detailed capacity review and evaluation of the existing electrical distribution and energy systems, operational and reliability planning recommendations, evaluation of alternate solutions, and coordination with utility providers including Xcel Energy to outline actionable pathways for increasing electrical capacity to support campus growth through 2035. Qualified consulting firms must demonstrate previous experience with comprehensive electrical capacity studies for complex distribution systems, and firms with electrical engineers on staff are preferred. The project has an estimated cost of $275,000. Key evaluation criteria include project team qualifications, firm and team capabilities, prior experience with similar projects, proposed project approach, equity and diversity practices, and work location proximity. A mandatory pre-submittal conference is scheduled for April 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM at the Facilities Annex in Denver. Qualifications submissions are due May 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM Mountain Time, with shortlist interviews anticipated for May 19, 2026, a project start date of June 1, 2026, and anticipated completion by April 1, 2027.

Colorado labor must constitute at least 80 percent of the work performed, and preference is given to Colorado resident vendors, which effectively constitutes a Colorado-based set-aside. Professional errors and omissions liability insurance is required with minimum coverage of $250,000 per claim and $500,000 aggregate for the project. The existing infrastructure that successful consultants must evaluate and integrate with includes the campus's 13.2kV medium-voltage distribution system, which is owned and operated by Auraria Campus facilities and fed by two redundant 16.92MW feeders from Xcel Energy. The current infrastructure maintains complete redundancy through a Main-Tie-Main configuration with dual Vista Switches at Holly Lot and dual fused switchgear lineups at the Arts Building. The report on the Medium-Voltage Capacity Study indicates that the campus currently operates at 8.8MW peak load capacity and faces capacity constraints with planned projects, necessitating recommendations for infrastructure modifications to accommodate future demand. No incumbent contractors are identified in the available procurement documents. The contract is contingent upon CFO approval and fund availability; current fiscal year funding is budgeted with future appropriations contingent on additional budget allocation and formal amendment execution.