Do you have a question? Please click here.
FAQs are posted periodically, please check back often for updated postings.
General (18) Rate Stability Winter Procurements (29) RS Block RFP (12) RS REC RFP (36) Standard Products Procurement (9) Renewable Energy Products Procurement (9)
Go to page: 1(newest) 2(oldest) Next
RS Block RFP
Can an entity that has qualified without a Guarantor later put forth the financial worthiness of a guarantor as long as the guarantor will agree to ComEd’s form of guaranty (including any approved changes)?
This would be acceptable to ComEd after ComEd has confirmed the creditworthiness of the guarantor.
Does the supplier fee of $60,000.00 apply to a block of 50 MW for the entire term or to a block of 50 MW over one year?
The supplier fee is $60,000 for one block of 50 MW for the entire term.
The Bid is what the Bidder is willing to accept to deliver each MWh of one block from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014 with price escalating by 2.5 percent per annum each June 1 starting from June 1, 2014. Is the 2.5% increase calculated from the prior year price or from the original bid price?
The 2.5% escalator means the contract price increases by 2.5% per year. The 2.5% increase is calculated on the basis of the prior year price (not on the basis of the original bid price for all years).
On the Bid Form, there is a single space to submit a Bid for a Block and the Supply Period is listed as June 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017. Can you confirm whether the Bid is a) what the Bidder is willing to accept to deliver each MWh of one block from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014 with price escalating by 2.5 percent per annum each June 1 starting from June 1, 2014; or b) a price for entire term from which the Procurement Administrator will back into a contract price for each year? Does information in the Bid Form superseded the RFP Rules in this regard? Which number will be used for evaluation purposes?
As stated in the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP Rules, a “Bid” is a price in $/MWh for one (1) block of the Product and represents the price that the Bidder is willing to accept to deliver each MWh over the period June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014 under the terms of the RS Block Master Agreement, understanding that should this Bid be approved by the Commission, the price of the Bid will be escalated at 2.5% annually on June of each year during the Delivery Period, beginning June 1, 2014. The Delivery Period (or Supply Period) starts on June 1, 2013 and ends on December 31, 2017. Please see the Sample Confirmation and all documents of the RS Block Master Agreement, posted to the web site on January 12, 2012. It is the responsibility of each Bidder to understand the terms of the RS Block Master Agreement and the RS Block RFP Rules.
The Bid Form is a spreadsheet provided for the submission of Bids and is not intended to supersede or modify materials in the RS Block Master Agreement or the RS Block RFP Rules or clarifications that may be provided to Bidders by the Procurement Administrator. The Bid Form provides one (1) space to enter (1) price for each block and the Bid Form indicates that the Supply Period (Delivery Period) is June 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017. This is consistent with the RS Block RFP Rules. Nothing in the Bid Form states that the Procurement Administrator will "back into a contract price" and nothing is intended to imply that such a calculation would be performed by the Procurement Administrator. The Procurement Administrator will evaluate Bids that meet or beat the benchmarks and will select the lowest priced Bids that procure all needed blocks. The “Bids” in the preceding sentence are the prices in $/MWh provided by Bidders in their Bid Forms.
In the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP Rules, Paragraph VI.2.9 states that “By 6 PM on the first business day after the Bid Date, the Procurement Administrator notifies a Bidder that had Bids that were evaluated whether any of the Bidder’s Bids are recommended for acceptance by the Procurement Administrator. The Procurement Administrator identifies to a Bidder the number of blocks of the Product for which the Bidder’s Bids are recommended for acceptance, and identifies the Bid that is the price for each such block.” On the bidder information call, it was mentioned that Bidders would be notified by the close of business on the second business day after the Bid Date. Please confirm the date by which the Procurement Administrator will provide the preliminary notification to Bidders as to which, if any, of their bids have been recommended for acceptance?
Given the simplicity of the evaluation process for the RS Block RFP, the Procurement Administrator commits to informing each Bidder that had Bids that were evaluated whether any of the Bidder’s Bids are recommended for acceptance by the Procurement Administrator by 6 PM on the Bid Date. The Procurement Administrator identifies to a Bidder the number of blocks of the Product for which the Bidder’s Bids are recommended for acceptance, and identifies the Bid that is the price for each such block.
The procurement target for the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP is 9 blocks of 50 MW or 450 MW. How was that quantity determined?
The quantity was determined as the most energy that can be purchased without creating a monthly excess in an on-peak or off- peak period between June 2013 and December 2017. This determination was made by considering the load forecast with municipal aggregation and purchases made in prior procurements.
Where can we find the credit instruments in Word format for the Rate Stability (“RS”) RFPs?
These documents were released in final form on 12 January 2012 and are available here under the RS Block Master Agreement (Final) (January 12, 2012) and RS REC Master Agreement (Final) (January 12, 2012) headers.
Specifically, The Standard Post-Bid Letter of Credit is Schedule 1A to the Collateral Annex. The Letter of Full Transfer is Exhibit A to Schedule 1A to the Collateral Annex. The Guaranty is Schedule 2 to the Collateral Annex.
When will the Rate Stability Block and REC RFP documents be released?
The final RFP Rules were released on 12 January 2012 and are available here under the RS Block RFP Documents (Final) (January 12, 2012) and RS REC RFP Documents (Final) (January 12, 2012) headers.
The Bid Date for the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP is on Friday February 10, 2012. With Monday being a holiday, potentially the Illinois Commerce Commission (“ICC”) will not make a decision until Friday, February 17, 2012. Is this date flexible?
No. It is not feasible to hold the procurement earlier. Holding the procurement later would not be a solution as Monday 2/20 is also a holiday and the procurement by law must be complete within 120 days of PA 97-0616 becoming effective. The time allowed for ICC approval is set by legislation. There will always be same gap between the Bid Date and ICC approval. The Procurement Administrator will, however, undertake to inform bidders in the energy RFP by the close of business on the Bid Date whether their bids will be recommended to the ICC for approval.
We understand that there are specific requirements for an RFP Bidder that relies on a foreign parent/guarantor for purposes of the Rate Stability ("RS") Block RFP. However we do not see any specific requirements for participation in the RS Block RFP by a foreign entity. What are the financial requirements associated with the RS Block RFP for a foreign entity?
As stated in Article IV of the RS Block RFP Rules, a Bidder that is relying on its own financial standing must submit recent financial information for the Bidder in its Part 1 Proposal. The Bidder must submit, if available: (i) its most recent audited annual financial information, including a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and any accompanying notes and schedules. If available, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Form 10-K should be submitted to fulfill this requirement; (ii) its most recent quarterly financial data, including a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and any accompanying notes and schedules. If available, the SEC Form 10-Q should be submitted to fulfill this requirement. If the SEC Form 10-Q is unavailable, the most recent quarterly or monthly financial data must be accompanied by an attestation by an officer of the Bidder that the information submitted fairly presents in all material respects the financial condition and results of the operations of the Bidder. The requirements for this attestation are more specifically provided in Appendix 5 of these RS Block Rules. If the SEC Form 10-Q is unavailable, the Bidder must also either provide a review report from an independent accountant for the most recent quarterly or monthly financial data submitted or state that such a report is not available; and (iii) any public financial disclosure made since the release of the Bidder's most recent financial data for any matters that are material to the Bidder's financial condition. If available, SEC Forms 8-K should be submitted to fulfill this requirement. If the Bidder's information forms part of the financial information of a parent, the Bidder is asked to provide a section or page reference where its financial information is provided. Further, the Bidder must submit any available rating from the following rating agencies: Standard & Poor's Rating Services ("S&P"), Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), and Fitch, Inc. ("Fitch").
As a foreign entity participating in the RS Block RFP, please note that the Master Agreement, which is a standard contract and all Bidders must agree with its terms, includes requirements that the supplier be a member of PJM, be a forward contract merchant within the meaning of the United States Bankruptcy Code, and be an eligible contract participant within the meaning of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act. Each Bidder must arrive at its own determination of whether the Bidder can meet those requirements.
Is the contract term for the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP negotiable? Could it be changed when you finalize the documents?
The contract term is not negotiable and it cannot be changed. The controlling legislation specifies the duration for the energy procurement to be from June 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017, with price escalating by 2.5 percent per annum.
For the Rate Stability (“RS”) Block RFP, what is the total quantity that the RFP aims to procure? Will all the energy go to one bidder or will it be broken into blocks?
The RS Block Energy RFP will procure 450 MW in total and it will be broken down into blocks.The block size is 50 MW.
Originally posted December 28, 2011. Updated January 20, 2011.
Back to Top
