Natural Gas Supplier - Pre-Qualification For Choice Program

The State of Michigan, through the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, is conducting a two-tier Request for Proposal (RFP No. 180000000077) to pre-qualify natural gas suppliers for the Michigan Domestic Energy Alliance (MiDEAL) Gas Customer Choice Program. This procurement seeks qualified natural gas suppliers to provide natural gas supply services to Michigan state agencies and MiDEAL members, including cities, townships, counties, villages, school districts, universities, community colleges, and nonprofit hospitals. The suppliers will deliver natural gas through multiple utility providers including SEMCO Energy, Michigan Gas Utilities, Michcon, and Consumers Energy, with historical participation primarily occurring with Consumers Energy. Tier 1 of the procurement involves pre-qualification of suppliers based on financial stability, experience, tools, and relationships (40 points); general requirements and contract terms and conditions (50 points); and background (10 points), with bidders required to achieve a minimum score of 80 points to advance to Tier 2 pricing evaluation. Tier 2 will involve pricing requests and facility-specific account information, with the State intending to award separate contracts with identical terms to all pre-qualified Tier 1 suppliers. Mandatory minimum requirements include demonstrated net worth of at least $5,000,000, provision of all required price management tools, and at least two prior experiences with annual loads of 100,000 Mcf or greater. The contract term extends from December 22, 2017, through December 4, 2024, with renewal options for up to five additional one-year periods. Critical deadlines include a pre-proposal teleconference on September 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. EST; written questions due by 3:00 p.m. EST on October 5, 2017; answers posted by October 10, 2017; and proposal submissions due by 3:00 p.m. EST on October 24, 2017, through the SIGMA VSS electronic system.

The RFP includes qualification requirements for Disabled Veteran-owned businesses and explicitly disqualifies any company, employee, agent, or representative that participated in developing or evaluating components of the RFP. Bidders must identify their principal place of business, preferably in Michigan, and demonstrate their ability to service various utility choice programs. The standard contract terms require suppliers to pay a quarterly administrative fee of 0.5% on all payments received under the contract, due within 30 days from the last day of each calendar quarter, and maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence with $2,000,000 aggregate limits, Automobile Liability, Workers' Compensation, and Employers Liability of $500,000 per accident. No specific incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement documents. The estimated annual consumption for State of Michigan agencies participating in Customer Choice historically averaged 100,000 MMBtu annually; however, no specific award values or total budget ranges are stated in the solicitation materials. Contracts exceeding $500,000 require State Administrative Board approval. Successful bidders will be required to attend a kick-off meeting within 30 days of contract award, the Annual Cooperative Member Conference, and provide quarterly reports on participants, purchasing activity, and gas cost savings within six months of executed transactions.