Risk Analysis of Delaware’s Critical Energy Infrastructure

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy is requesting proposals for professional services to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis of Delaware's critical energy infrastructure, with proposals due September 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM and questions due August 21, 2026.

The scope requires a detailed inventory and risk, vulnerability, and dependency assessment of Delaware's major energy supply, distribution, and demand networks. Deliverables must support system situational awareness, resiliency planning, hazard mitigation, climate change and sea level rise adaptation, disaster response coordination, and energy infrastructure investment decision-making. Vendors must demonstrate electric sector risk assessment expertise, experience with investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, and cooperative utilities, and relevant project experience involving distribution system evaluation and microgrid interconnection.

The contract has an initial term of one year with two optional one-year renewal extensions. Evaluation criteria total 100 points: experience and reputation (25 points), capacity to meet project requirements (30 points), demonstrated technical ability (30 points), and pricing (15 points). The State will not pay proposal preparation costs or vendor participation costs in conferences or demonstrations. All proposal costs must be specifically detailed with no additional charges permitted without written State consent, and costs must include full compensation for applicable taxes. Payment is made based on defined and measurable milestones with no advance payments permitted; the State may withhold up to 25 percent of contract monies until acceptable performance is demonstrated.

Vendors must maintain Commercial General Liability insurance of $1 million per occurrence / $3 million aggregate and either Medical/Professional Liability, Miscellaneous Errors and Omissions, or Product Liability insurance at $1 million per occurrence / $3 million aggregate. Vendors must attest that no work will be performed outside the United States and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Work product and all materials developed under the contract become the sole and exclusive property of the State of Delaware. Proposals must be submitted in four paper copies plus one electronic copy to dnrec.energyoffice@delaware.gov with a maximum length of 50 single-sided pages (or 25 double-sided pages) excluding covers and required attachments, using minimum 12-point font. Responses to questions will be posted by September 4, 2026; anticipated award notification is October 16, 2026.