MI Home Energy Electrification Rebates Sec. 50122 HEERA

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) issued Request for Proposal No. 240000000760 for planning and development services related to the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program under Internal Revenue Act Section 50122, funded through the federal Department of Energy's Inflation Reduction Act. The solicitation seeks a qualified contractor to serve as an expert consultant to conduct comprehensive stakeholder engagement across state agencies, local and tribal governments, utilities, contractors, and community organizations throughout Michigan. The contractor must develop program design priorities, identify existing contracts and program delivery mechanisms, research standards and best practices for energy efficiency rebate programs, assess workforce development needs, and create an integrated approach for coordinating with federal and state programs. Key deliverables include multiple rounds of stakeholder meetings, a final application for the Section 50122 program incorporating a Community Benefits Plan, Education and Outreach Strategy, Consumer Protection Plan, Utility Data Access Plan, Privacy and Security Risk Assessment, and Market Transformation Plan, as well as a comprehensive State Implementation Plan with contracting materials for third-party implementation. The contractor will not be eligible to serve as a third-party implementor for the HEEAR or Home Efficiency Rebates programs but may later subcontract with selected implementation vendors. Minimum qualifications require at least three years of experience administering at least one similar rebate and incentive program, at least two years of experience managing federal funds and associated compliance and reporting requirements, and preferably demonstrated experience administering rebate or assistance programs in Michigan. Proposals will be evaluated on a 100-point scale consisting of vendor background and experience (25 points), Statement of Work requirements (25 points), staffing plan (25 points), and project management approach (25 points), with only proposals scoring 80 or more points advancing to price evaluation. The deadline for bidder questions is January 10, 2024, with answers posted by January 16, 2024, and the proposal deadline is February 1, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with an anticipated contract start date of February 27, 2024.

The contract is structured as a contractor agreement rather than a subaward with a two-year term from February 27, 2024, through February 26, 2026, with an option to renew for up to one additional one-year period at the State's discretion. Pricing must be submitted on Schedule B with a time and materials structure, with a maximum indirect rate of 10 percent unless the bidder has an approved Federally Negotiated Indirect Rate, and pricing must remain firm for the entire contract period with no combined pricing discounts. All federal regulations under 2 CFR Part 200, as amended by 2 CFR Part 910, apply to the contract, including debarment and suspension verification, the Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment for awards exceeding $100,000, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance, domestic preferences for procurements, and affirmative socioeconomic steps for subcontracting. The solicitation indicates EGLE's intention to promote diversity and maintain flexibility by awarding separate contracts to dedicated vendors for the HEEAR program and Home Efficiency Rebates program to ensure funds remain separate. Standard contract requirements include minimum insurance coverage of $1,000,000 commercial general liability, $1,000,000 automobile liability, and workers' compensation, with intellectual property ownership remaining with the State and a four-year records retention requirement. The contract includes service credit penalties of $100 to $500 per occurrence for non-compliance on deliverables, with 100 percent compliance expected on all submissions; the specific budget or award value is not stated in the available documentation, but the award is contingent upon federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act Section 50122 program, for which EGLE has already received approval for early administrative program funding.