Electricity Purchase

The City of New Haven, Connecticut is soliciting competitive proposals for multi-year retail electric supply services to municipal accounts through a two-phase RFQ/RFP process, with Phase 1 prequalification submissions due by March 10, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. and Phase 2 price proposals to follow from pre-qualified vendors. The procurement covers electricity supply to approximately 46,000 megawatt-hours annually across city-owned buildings and facilities, including schools, public safety operations, major municipal buildings, traffic signals, street lighting systems, and miscellaneous municipal services, excluding private or residential electric accounts. The selected supplier(s) must deliver block and index pricing with firm service using a 60-month contract term commencing July 1, 2026 from the meter read date, with the City seeking to secure competitive pricing, reduce rate volatility, comply with Connecticut clean energy goals, and leverage modern energy data and reporting capabilities. Minimum qualifications require suppliers to hold an active Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) retail supplier license, demonstrate experience managing at least 5 megawatts of aggregated municipal or government load, maintain credit ratings of BBB- or higher (or post appropriate letters of credit), serve a minimum of five unique customers throughout ISO New England with at least 10 megawatt demand each, and possess block and index settlement and billing capabilities. Respondents must accept the City's non-negotiable Standard Terms, submit proposals electronically through the City's OpenGov eProcurement Portal with completed disclosure forms and PURA certification, and respond to comprehensive qualifications and experience questions; questions regarding the RFP must be submitted by February 25, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Evaluation criteria include System Requirements Completeness, Product Demonstration, and Proposed Solutions focused on effectiveness, feasibility, innovation, risk mitigation, clarity, and sustainability, with cost scoring employing a "Reward Low Cost" methodology allocating up to 30 points based on the lowest overall cost proposal receiving full points.

The procurement documents do not identify set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises, minority-owned businesses, or women-owned businesses, nor do they restrict participation based on organization type; however, all respondents must comply with Connecticut's foreign discriminatory boycott statute for contracts exceeding $100,000 and provide workforce demographic information as part of their proposals. The account listing documents reference existing United Illuminating Company (UI) service arrangements for over 900 individual metered and unmetered accounts distributed across City departments including the Department of Traffic Signals, Municipal Street Lights, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and Police and Fire Services, with rate classifications spanning general service rates with and without demand charges, energy-only rates for street lighting, and unmetered public and private service. The current electricity provider information and existing account infrastructure details are provided in the collective billing account listings (UI_City_of_New_Haven_account listing files dated October 2025 and February 2026), which suppliers must integrate into their service delivery planning and billing systems. Specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the procurement documentation; however, the estimated annual electricity consumption of 46,000 megawatt-hours across a 60-month contract term provides the basis for cost evaluation in Phase 2. The City retains the right to reject any or all proposals and exercises discretion in vendor selection based on total evaluated points across all scoring factors, with the contract structure allowing flexible add/delete provisions permitting portfolio adjustments up to 10 percent of initial contract volume without repricing or early termination fees.