Each Block presented by the Bidder must have a single Bid (i.e., a single price per REC for that Block). Thus, you cannot provide a different SREC price for each of the systems.

After the Part 1 Notification Date, you cannot add systems to your Proposal.

Systems that are co-located are considered to be separate systems for purposes of bidding in the procurement events as long as each system has its own separate revenue quality meter (or has its own production read separately) and has its own identifier in the applicable tracking system (GATS or MRETs).  For more information about the metering standards for the DG RFP please see FAQ-DG-30 posted to the FAQ page of the procurement website.

A Bidder’s Part 2 Proposal and any supporting documentation and information, including the Letter of Credit, is due by 12 PM (noon) CPT on October 1, 2015.

Please note that the supporting documentation you mention in your question is to support the fact that systems are existing. As such, this documentation is NOT required for new systems.

As stated with the DG RFP Rules, a Bidder may provide one of the following as supporting documentation for existing systems: (i) Interconnection Agreement; (ii) Net metering application approval letter; (iii) Final system inspection confirmation; (iv) PJM-EIS GATS/M-RETS system registration application and approval letter; (v) permission to operate letter; or: (vi) other relevant documentation clearly showing the date at which the system was energized or began operation. A Certificate of Completion is an example of other documentation that can be provided.

As explained in Paragraph V.5.4 of the DG RFP Rules, the annual volume of RECs to be delivered each period (with the exception of the first year for new systems) is determined by the winning system’s size (nameplate capacity DC Rating) and technology-specific capacity factor as provided in Table I-1 of the RFP Rules. The same capacity factors are used for all Bidders presenting systems of a given technology. In accordance to Paragraph IV.3.3, you certified that the size of the system provided in the Identification Worksheet is accurate and this size will be pre-populated in your Bid Sheet so that you may not vary it as part of presenting your Bids.

Under the applicable supplier contracts, the Seller must deliver at least 80% of the quantity of each Product (meaning RECs for systems under 25 kW or RECs for systems 25-2,000 kW) by the July 15 immediately following the Delivery Year. If there are less than 10% of the RECs under contract from a given Product, at least 80% of the aggregate quantity across the Products must be delivered. However, please note that there is no requirement to deliver 80% of the quantity of RECs from any particular system.

There is no extension process under the DG RFP.  If a system does not deliver one REC on or before July 15, 2016, the contract is not cancelled.  Rather, such system will be removed from the applicable supplier contract and the amount of RECs under contract correspondingly reduced.  The IPA may draw upon the Letter of Credit, not necessarily for its entirety, but rather for the amount of RECs to be delivered by the system times $8/REC.

Yes, there may be changes to this document.  A draft has been posted on September 25, 2015.

Any additional Utility DG procurement events will be under the next Procurement Plan and the exact timing is not known at this time.  Please register for our announcements  to receive more information regarding the timing of future events.

The Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) sponsors various procurement events for the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits.  Individual system owners are not precluded from participating directly.  However, both for the Utility Distributed Generation RFP (“DG RFP”) and for the Supplemental Photovoltaic RFP (“SPV RFP”), there is a minimum capacity that must be put up for bid.  The minimum for the DG RFP is 1,000 kW while the minimum for the SPV RFP is 79.39 kW.  In either case, a single system of 15.75 kW does not qualify.

You may be able to participate through a group of similar system owners or through an aggregator.  The list of companies that have won in the SPV RFP (and thus that aggregated at least 79.39 kW of systems) is provided here:  https://ipa-energyrfp.com/download/supplemental_pv_2015/June%202015%20Supplemental%20Photovoltaic%20RFP%20Results.pdf .  The list of winners in the DG RFP will also be posted when those results are available.

While neither the Procurement Administrator nor the IPA endorses any particular company or aggregator, we note that the Illinois Solar Energy Association has a list of preferred vendors and offers some information for individual system owners to participate through an aggregator.  Please see their website:

http://www.illinoissolar.org/IPA-Existing-Procurement

Yes.  The RFP Rules provide that other relevant documentation may be provided, such as a Certificate of Completion.  Other such documents will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Systems are considered separate if each system has its own revenue quality meter and has its own identifier in the applicable tracking system (GATS or MRETs).  If the “added capacity” results in a new separate system then this system could be presented separately in a future DG procurement (or an SPV procurement event to the extent that the system in question is a solar photovoltaic system).

For the case that the “added capacity” is incremental to a system that is selected through the DG RFP, the added capacity could not be bid separately into a DG procurement event or through an SPV procurement event if it is not a separate system.  There may be also consequences to adding capacity to a system that is selected under the DG RFP in an incremental manner under the applicable supplier contract. For example, we note that no substitutions are allowed between the Size Classes.  It is entirely the Bidder’s responsibility to review the applicable supplier contracts and assess the feasibility of future system expansions.

A Bidder may request an unlocked Identification Worksheet Insert from the Procurement Administrator by emailing Illinois-RFP@nera.com. The Procurement Administrator will provide an Insert with a number of unlocked columns, each corresponding to a system.  The Bidder must specify the number of columns required.

The purpose of locking the Insert is to ensure that all responses from Bidders follow the same format to reduce the processing time of the Bidder’s Proposal.  If a Bidder requests and uses an un-locked Identification Worksheet Insert, the Procurement Administrator may encounter delays in reviewing your submission should the Insert not be in the format we expect.  Should this occur, the Procurement Administrator will advise the Bidder of that fact and may need to reduce the time provided to the Bidder to respond to any request for further information.

We understand you to be asking whether one of the systems that you name to the IPA to fulfill a forecast quantity can be an identified system that was not selected as part of the evaluation in the procurement event. Yes, this would be acceptable for winners of the June 2015 procurement event. A winning Bidder of forecast RECs in the Spring 2015 SPV has six months after the procurement event (October 16, 2015) to identify the system to the IPA.

For future procurement events, please consult the documents for that procurement event for additional timing requirements for providing an identified system after winning an award for a forecast quantity.

All systems presented as part of a Proposal for the Utility DG RFP must be distributed generation systems. As defined in the IPA Act, this requires that the system be:

• Interconnected at the distribution system level of either an electric utility, alternative retail electric supplier, municipal utility, or a rural electric cooperative;
• Located on the customer side of the customer’s electric meter and is primarily used to offset that customer’s electricity load; and
• Limited in nameplate capacity to no more than 2,000 kW.

The interconnection requirements are the same for all technologies, including solar thermal projects. A solar thermal system that does not meet there interconnection requirements is not considered a distributed generation system and cannot be presented as part of a Proposal for the Utility DG RFP.

At this time, we can only confirm that GATS is able to register solar thermal projects. Consistent with the metering requirements set forth in the metering accuracy standards released by the IPA, systems must utilize a meter that meets ANSI C.12 Standards. Systems 25 kW and above must have a meter that was new as of the time of the installation of the system while systems under 25 kW may utilize meters that are refurbished (and certified by the meter supplier.

Please note that production estimates are not allowed and all output used to create RECs must be measured.

Yes, your understanding is correct.

Systems that are in operation but that are not yet registered in a tracking system for purposes of accumulating RECs are not “energized” for purposes of the Utility DG RFP and are thus considered “new” systems.

There are differences in the metering standards depending on whether the system is registered with MRETs or with GATS.

• For systems registered with M‐RETS, all such systems must utilize an ANSI C.12 certified revenue quality meter as specified in M‐RETS Operating Procedure 7.2. Inverter readings are not allowed.
• For systems registered with GATS, such systems must utilize: (i) a meter that is accurate to +/‐ 5% (including refurbished and certified meters); or: (ii) an inverter that is specified by the manufacturer to be accurate to +/‐5%, that is UL‐certified, and that includes a digital or web‐based output display.   Inverter readings are acceptable for such systems as long as the in this paragraph are satisfied.

If the systems are not yet registered with MRETs or GATS, the Bidder would be required to register these systems with GATS should the systems be part of the winning bids and the inverters must satisfy the conditions provided above. In including these systems in its Bids, the Bidder is representing that it made the investigations necessary to determine that there exist to impediments to these systems registering with GATS and satisfying the IPA’s metering accuracy standards.

Please note that production estimates are not allowed and all output used to create RECs must be measured.

The webcast will be posted to the Renewable Energy Resources Section of the procurement website.

The two credit requirements, the performance assurance under the contract with the utility, and the letter of credit due with the Part 2 Proposal are independent requirements that both apply to each Bidder. In some cases, it will mean that a Bidder has two letters of credit concurrently, one with the IPA as beneficiary and one as the utility as beneficiary. This would occur, for example, in the period immediately after the Commission decision for a Bidder that posts a Letter of Credit under the applicable supplier contract and that would still at that point have a Letter of Credit with the IPA. However note that (i) a Bidder could post cash or be granted an unsecured line a credit or rely on the financial standing of a guarantor (but not post a bond) under the applicable supplier contract and thus not be required to post a Letter of Credit with the utility as beneficiary; and (ii) if the Bidder does not have winning Bids for new systems then the Letter of Credit with the IPA would expire after payment of the Supplier Fee.

No. Under each applicable supplier contract, you can be granted an unsecured line of credit (and have to performance assurance to post) or you may post performance assurance in the form of cash of a letter of credit.

The host is the individual or company that owns the location where the system is built. The Host Acknowledgment is only required for systems where: (i) the host and owner are different; and (ii) where the system is new.

For the purposes of the DG RFP, the standards for a “revenue quality meter” are the same as they were for the SPV procurement event; these standards are posted to the IPA website in the document entitled “Revenue-Quality Metering Accuracy Standard and Acceptable Technologies”.

Landfill gas is not a part of the definition of “distributed renewable energy generation device” under the Illinois Public Act 95-0481 and therefore is not eligible to be bid into this procurement event.

Generally as the RFP Rules allow bidders to submit Bidder-Owner agreement by the Part 2 Date if it is not available during the Part 1 Window.

All Bidders will receive an initial review of their proposal by 6 PM on the business day the Part 1 Proposal is received if the Part 1 Proposal is received prior to 12 PM (noon) or by 12 PM noon on the next business day if the Part 1 Proposal is received after 12 PM (noon).

For Bidders with fewer than five (5) systems presented as part of the Proposal, this review will either (i) state that the Part 1 Proposal is complete and being considered or (ii) state that the initial review lists items of the Part 1 Proposal that are incomplete or require clarification.

For Bidders with more than five (5) systems in their Proposal, the timing of review may well not be different in practice from Bidders with fewer than five (5) systems. However, such a Bidder may receive a notification stating that the review of the identification and documentation for the systems presented in the Part 1 Proposal is in progress and that lists any items of the Part 1 Proposal that are incomplete or require clarification up to that point. The completion of the review will lag by no more than one business day.

The 2,000 kW limit is a limit on the size of the system (that is one of the requirements for the system to qualify as distributed generation).

The 80% requirement is not imposed on a system-by-system basis but rather is imposed on all the systems of a certain Size Class. A Bidder with Bids approved by the Commission as winning Bids must provide at least 80% of the quantity of RECs as calculated from the system size and the applicable standard capacity factor for each Product for a given Delivery Year (or, if there are less than 10% of the RECs under contract from a given Product, at least 80% of the aggregate quantity across both Products must be delivered). Failure to meet this requirement is considered a default under the terms of the applicable supplier contracts. Furthermore, the standard capacity factors used in the calculations are all similarly conservative in nature to the standard capacity factor that was used for the SPV procurement and is used here again for solar systems (14.38%).

Systems that are in operation but that are not yet registered in a tracking system for purposes of accumulating RECs are not “energized” for purposes of the Utility DG RFP and are thus considered “new” systems.

No. The amount if $8/REC for new and for existing systems. After the Bid Date, there are three (3) possibilities:

• If the Bidder has no Bids that are approved by the Commission, the Letter of Credit will be cancelled as soon as practicable after the Commission decision on the results of the procurement event;
• If a Bidder has Bids that are approved by the Commission and all of the systems that are a part of the winning Bids are existing systems, the Letter of Credit will be cancelled as soon as practicable after the IPA receives the Supplier Fee from the Bidder;
• If a Bidder has Bids that are approved by the Commission and some of the approved are new systems, after the IPA receives the Supplier Fee from the Bidder, the IPA will request an amendment to reduce the amount of the Letter of Credit to $8/REC for new systems only. The Letter of Credit will then expire on the date stated in its terms unless the Bidder provides any special instructions for return of the Letter of Credit in the Part 2 Proposal.

The methodology for the setting of benchmarks is confidential. The benchmarks are approved by the Commission and the methodology does take these factors into account.

The answer to this question depends on information that you did not provide, namely the exact timing of when the system is expected to be installed and be in operation. Each system must deliver one REC to the utility by July 15, 2016 (which means that this REC would be produced on the basis of generation occurring on or before May 31, 2016). If the system is built early enough in the new year to meet this requirement, the system is “new” and can be presented as part of the proposal. If the system is not built in time to delivery at least one REC by July 15, 2016, then the system is not eligible for the DG RFP.

Generally a system is identified (rather than speculative) if the Bidder can provide all the information required by the Identification Worksheet Insert (it being understood that for new systems the Bidder can provide some information by the Part 2 Date rather than with the Part 1 Proposal.

For simplicity to illustrate the credit requirements, we assume that the bidder is relying on its own financial standing and is not rated by S&P, Moody’s or Fitch. Under the DG contracts for each utility, the performance assurance collateral amount is 10% of the remaining contract value if the calculated amount is at least $50,000. If the calculated amount is less than $50,000, then the Seller would not be required to provide any performance assurance collateral. This calculation is performed on the Effective Date of the contracts. During the term of the contracts, AIC will perform this calculation upon request by the Seller if the Seller believes it has delivered sufficient RECs to warrant a decrease in the collateral requirement. ComEd will perform this calculation annually on the last day of June.

As an example, a purchase price of $100 for 6,000 RECs across 5 delivery years would correspond to a contract value of $600,000, which would result in a requirement to provide performance assurance in the amount of $60,000 on the Effective Date of the contract. The Seller must provide this amount as performance assurance in the form of cash or a letter of credit at the beginning of the contract term. Assuming at the end of the first delivery year, the Seller has delivered 960 RECs. This would correspond to a remaining contract value of $504,000 (i.e., $100 x (6,000 RECs -1,000 RECs) = $504,000), and a performance assurance requirement of $51,000 (i.e., 50,400 rounded up to the nearest $1000). At that time, the Seller may request the return of $9,000. If collateral is posted in the form of a letter of credit, the Seller may provide an amendment to the letter of credit to reflect the reduced amount of $51,000.

Assuming further that the Seller delivered 1,200 RECs in the second delivery year, the remaining contract value would be $384,000 (i.e., $100 x (6,000 RECs – 960 RECs – 1,200 RECs) = $384,000). Given 10% of the remaining contract value yields an amount less than $50,000, the Seller may request the return of all the collateral posted as performance assurance at that point in time. In this case, there would no longer be any requirement to post performance assurance collateral through the remainder of the contract term.

There will be one purchase price applicable to all RECs under a utility DG REC Contract.

The price indicated in the contract is the weighted average winning bid price of the RECs that have been selected for award under the RFP process for that contract.

A Designated System is a project associated with a winning bid that has been identified by the Seller during the RFP process. The group of projects associated with winning bids is collectively known as Designated Systems, and the Seller is expected to deliver RECs from Designated Systems under the (AIC DG) REC Contract. The analogous terms in the ComEd DG REC Contract are “DG Renewable Energy Facilities” and “Aggregated Group of Projects”.

The RFP Rules anticipate the Bidders may need more to time to provide certain information. For new systems, the RFP Rules provide a delay up to the Part 2 Date (October 1) to provide the following information:

• Host name and contact information, and acknowledgment from Host if the owner of the system is not also the host;
• Interconnecting distribution company to which the system is connected;
• Customer account number;
• Tracking system from which RECs will be transferred; and
• Bidder-Owner agreement if the Bidder is not the Owner (a contract or letter of intent).

For existing systems, the RFP Rules provide a delay up to the Part 2 Date (October 1) to provide the following information:

• Documentation showing the system energized date; and
• Bidder-Owner agreement if the Bidder is not the Owner (a contract or letter of intent).

We cannot provide engineering or installation advice with respect to the distributed generation systems but we can provide additional information regarding the rules of the procurement event.

One condition for co-located installations to be “distributed generation” is for each installation to be behind the customer meter (please review all conditions for such installations to be distributed generation). For these installations to be considered separate systems that can be bid separately in the procurement events, each installation or system must have its own separate revenue quality meter and each must have its own identifier in the applicable tracking system (GATS or MRETs).

It would be acceptable if separate Bids are offered for two or more systems that are co-located on the same site and that will be associated with separate Revenue Quality Meters and each interconnected into a separate meter associated with separate utility accounts. Each of these could qualify separately for the sub-25 kW category if each were less than 25 kW in nameplate capacity (DC rating). It would also be acceptable if two or more systems were co-located, all behind the utility meter of a single customer, but each being associated with a separate revenue quality meter and each having its own identifier in the applicable tracking system (GATS or MRETs). No special documentation is required in this case beyond those required for systems below 25 kW.

Systems that are co-located can still be considered to be separate systems for purposes of bidding in the procurement events as long as each system has its own separate revenue quality meter and has its own identifier in the applicable tracking system (GATS or MRETs). If the new modules to which you refer in your question satisfy those conditions then they can be part of a bid in the procurement event.

Under the SPV RFP, the system requirements include that the system must be new, meaning that it must have been energized after January 21, 2015. As such, your home system does not qualify. Under the DG RFP, the minimum bid size is 1 MW. While your system could be part of a larger bid by an aggregator, your system alone does not qualify.

The evaluation of bids will include the application of benchmarks, which can be different according to the technology of the system. However, among the systems with prices that meet or beat the benchmarks, all technologies compete with one another. There is no quantity reserved for any one technology and there is no priority given to any one technology over another. The evaluation of bids will also include the objective of reaching a target of 50% of Distributed Generation RECs from sub-25kW systems.

It is expected that the entire first 1 MW block will be offered at a blended price and that the Bidder will be able to offer additional quantities in smaller blocks (at least 100 kW) at different prices.

No. To meet the minimum 1 MW bid requirement you may combine systems of different technologies and you may include systems from the sub-25 Category as well as systems from the Over-25 Category (systems 25 kW or more but not greater than 2,000 kW).

Generally, benchmarks are developed for each product procured. In particular, the Procurement Plan recognizes that if RECs from generation other than solar photovoltaics are procured through the DG RFP, these would be evaluated according to a separate benchmark.

No. Systems must be identified as a pre-requisite to qualification and bidders will be expected to provide

• System size;
• Name and contact information for the system owner;
• Location of the system;
• Name and contact information for host;
• Interconnecting distribution company;
• Customer account number;
• Energized date (to the extent that system is already energized); and
• Tracking system (to the extent that the system is already registered).

Bidders will also be expected to document the characteristics of the system; such documents may include letters of intent, signed contracts, interconnection or net metering applications, local permits. The definitive list of items required as information to identify each system and the required supporting documentation will be provided in the RFP Rules expected to be posted on September 1, 2015.

The requirements for the Utility Distributed Generation (“DG”) RFP are not expected to be identical to the Supplemental Photovoltaic (“SPV”) RFP. The SPV RFP allowed forecast quantities; furthermore, systems had twelve months from the Bid Date to be energized and registered in the applicable tracking system. In contrast, systems bid into the DG RFP must be identified and must deliver a REC under the contract in the first delivery year (by July 15, 2016).

The information to identify each system will be due with the Part 1 Proposal. The Part 1 Date (the date at which the Part 1 Proposals are due) is September 17, 2015. However, a system does not need to be energized at the time of the Part 1 Proposal. All systems covered by a contract awarded in this procurement event, even those that were not yet energized at the time of the Part 1 Proposal, must have delivered one REC under the contract during the first delivery year (by July 15, 2016).

The bidder will be required to identify the specific system(s) that will provide the RECs; “speculative bidding” will not be permitted. The information required to identify the system is expected to include:

• System name (optional);
• System size;
• Name and contact information for the system owner;
• Location of the system;
• Name and contact information for host;
• Interconnecting distribution company;
• Customer account number;
• Energized date (to the extent that system is already energized); and
• Tracking system (to the extent that the system is already registered).

Bidders will also be expected to document the characteristics of the system; such documents may include letters of intent, signed contracts, interconnection or net metering applications, local permits. The definitive list of items required as information to identify each system and the required supporting documentation will be provided in the RFP Rules expected to be posted on September 1, 2015.

A scanned copy of the letter of credit for a procurement event received by 6PM today will be considered a response to our last deficiency notice to you for that procurement event. Please do overnight the documents at the same time.
Should we issue a further deficiency notice to you after receiving your response, please note that the RFP Rules state that “in no event will a Bidder be allowed to respond after 12 PM on the Bid Date” in order to correct or explain a deficiency of the Part 2 Proposal.

The Procurement Administrator provides to the Bidder a Company’s assessment of a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit as soon as practicable and generally on the day of receipt.

The April 9 REC RFP Bidder Training was an opportunity for Bidders to practice all aspects of the bid submission procedure to be used on the Bid Date April 16, 2015. This was not a webinar but a hands-on practice session (and thus there was no possibility of a recording).

The Procurement Administrator evaluates Bids submitted in accordance with this RFP only from those Bidders that qualify pursuant to a successful Part 1 Proposal and that submit by 12 PM (noon) on the Bid Date a Part 2 Proposal that fulfills all the requirements (including the submission of an executed Pre-Bid Letter of Credit). Bidders that so qualify use the Bid Form sent to them via secure file transfer by the Procurement Administrator and follow the instructions provided by the Procurement Administrator with the Part 1 Notification dated April 6, 2015. Please also see Section VI.2. of the REC RFP Rules posted to the Renewable Energy Resources Section of the procurement web site.

If you have questions related to the bid submission process on the Bid Date, please contact the Procurement Administrator at 215-568-0200.

Please consult the Ameren Master REC Agreement posted to the Renewable Energy Resources Section of the procurement website for full details of conditions related to the RECs that can be provided to Ameren under the REC RFP. For bidding in the REC RFP, these requirements include, but are not limited to, RECs that: (i) are generated by photovoltaic cells and panels as identified in the Act as Renewable Energy Resources; (ii) are associated with generation taking place between January 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016; (iii) are “Standard RECs”, i.e., RECs that include all environmental attributes represented by renewable electricity generation associated with the RECs; (iv) are tracked in one of PJM Environmental Information System (“EIS”)’s Generation Attribute Tracking System (“GATS”), the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (“M-RETS”), or the North American Renewable Registry (“NARR”).

There is no additional restriction on location but please note that the evaluation gives preference to RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located within Illinois or within a state adjoining Illinois. States adjoining Illinois are Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, or Michigan.

The security requirements under the REC contracts are distinct from the requirement to provide a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit with the Part 2 Proposal. The requirement for a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit with the Part 2 Proposal applies to all Bidders.

The requirements of the Part 2 Proposal to bid RECs for a Company related to the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit are for: (i) the Bidder to provide an executed Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for a Company; (ii) for the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit to be either in the standard form or include only those modifications found acceptable by that Company and posted to the procurement website; and (iii) for the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit to be drawn for the account of the Bidder. If the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit is not drawn for the account of the Bidder, an amendment will be required.

More specifically, we note that the applicant under the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit may be an entity or individual other than the entity participating in this RFP. However, the entity participating in the RFP must be identified as the “Bidder” in the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit. For example, it is acceptable for the other entity or individual also to be identified in Paragraph 2 as follows:

(i) This Letter of Credit is issued at the request and for the account of ANOTHER ENTITY on behalf of ENTITY PARTICIPATING IN THE RFP (including its successors and assigns, the “Bidder”); or (ii) This Letter of Credit is issued at the request and for the account of ANOTHER ENTITY for ENTITY PARTICIPATING IN THE RFP (including its successors and assigns, the “Bidder”); or (iii) This Letter of Credit is issued at the request and for the account of ANOTHER ENTITY the parent of ENTITY PARTICIPATING IN THE RFP (including its successors and assigns, the “Bidder”) ; or (iii) This Letter of Credit is issued at the request and for the account of INDIVIDUAL of ENTITY PARTICIPATING IN THE RFP (including its successors and assigns, the “Bidder”).

With reference to #P1-6 ComEd Contract Insert, Section 1, item (j) requires the bidder to elect either:

— (Option A) for any Performance Assurance in the form of cash to be held by a Qualifying Institution; or:

— (Option B) for ComEd to hold any Performance Assurance in the form of cash.

Under Option A, cash is not held by ComEd, but by a Qualifying Institution and the REC Supplier will receive interest and will be responsible for all fees associated with the Performance Assurance posted. Under Option B, Performance Assurance in the form of cash will be held by ComEd and the REC Supplier will not receive interest for the Performance Assurance posted.

The election is at the option of the bidder and will apply to Section VI, Subsection B of Paragraph 10 to the Collateral Annex as modified in the Cover Sheet. This election is applicable if the REC Supplier posts Performance Assurance in the form of cash or in the event the Letter of Credit is drawn upon.

The election is at the option of the bidder and will apply to Section VI, Subsection B of Paragraph 10 to the Collateral Annex as modified in the Cover Sheet. Any bidder may make this election at its sole discretion.

As a part of the Part 2 Proposal for the Spring 2015 REC Procurement, Letters of Credit must be sent for delivery to the applicable Company by 12 PM (noon) CPT on April 13, 2015.

No. Originals of the Letter(s) of Credit must be sent to Ameren and/or ComEd at the following addresses:

Tim Moloney
Manager, Credit & Business Risk Management
Ameren Services
1901 Chouteau Avenue, MC 960
St. Louis, MO 63103

Scott Vogt
Vice President, Energy Acquisition
Commonwealth Edison Company
1919 Swift Drive
Oakbrook, IL 60521-1580

No.

The Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit for Ameren and for ComEd are Appedix 7 and Appendix 8, respectively, to the REC RFP Rules. These documents are posted to the Renewable Energy Resources Section of the procurement web site under the “Spring 2015 REC RFP Documents” heading.

Instructions for the submission of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit are provided by the Procurement Administrator via email prior to the opening of the Part 2 Window.

A Guarantor is an entity that agrees to guarantee the supplier’s financial obligation under the terms of the applicable supplier contract (for the REC RFP).  A Guarantor issues a Guaranty (a standard form of which is included in the applicable supplier contract) and a Guarantor would typically be a parent company that would meet the standards necessary to be granted unsecured credit under the terms of the applicable supplier contract.  A bank that issues a letter a credit is not a Guarantor.  The Letter of Credit issued by such a bank allows the Bidder to fulfil the requirements of the Part 2 Proposal on a pre-bid basis.  Any Letter of Credit issued by such a bank if the Bidder is a winner could also be used to fulfil any security requirements under the terms of the applicable supplier contract.

If a bidder intends to use either a letter of credit or cash for any security required under the terms of the applicable supplier contract, then the bidder should use the “Bidder” itself as the entity on whose financial standing the Bidder relies (and not a “Guarantor”).

Login Instructions are provided by email to individuals who Register on the Register Section of the procurement website.

There is no requirement that the REC be produced by a resource located in a “state”. Preference is given to RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located within Illinois or within a state adjoining Illinois. All RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located elsewhere will be considered. You may understand “Other State Solar Photovoltaic (OSP)” to mean “produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource that is not located within Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, or Michigan”.

Please note that the Bidder must use PJM Environmental Information System (“EIS”)’s Generation Attribute Tracking System (“GATS”), or in the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (“M-RETS”), or in the North American Renewable Registry (“NARR”) as the tracking system for RECs offered under this REC RFP.

No. Under Illinois law, Alternative Compliance Payments (“ACP“) are an RPS compliance mechanism available to alternative retail electric suppliers (“ARES”), and are not an option for utilities for compliance with renewable energy resource procurement obligations manifest in Section 1-75(c) of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

Yes.

Collateral is only required to be posted by REC Bidders who are awarded $500,000 of RECs or more. The required amount of Performance Assurance is equal to 10% of any contract valued at or above $500,000.

With regard to your example, no collateral would be required by a Bidder who is awarded $20,000 of RECs, as a contract valued at $20,000 is below the $500,000 minimum to necessitate Performance Assurance.

Please refer to the “Performance Assurance” Section on Page 7 of the Final Ameren Master Rec Agreement PDF posted to the “Renewable Energy Section” of the procurement web site for the language regarding these requirements.

The REC RFP is for a one-year contract length in which the Bid Categories are RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located within Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, or Michigan and RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located elsewhere. The procurement event is occurring in April 2015. There is no bid minimum. There is a non-refundable Bid Participation Fee of $500. Bidders also submit a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit as a requirement of the Part 2 Proposal in an amount no less than $2 times the number of RECs for which the Bidder is placing a Bid across all Products (i.e., all locations) for a given Company or $10,000, whichever is greater. The Company is either ComEd or Ameren; Bidders submit separate bids for each Company. The REC RFP is a procurement event under the Regular Plan.

No, these are the only acceptable tracking systems. A Bidder must have an existing account with PJM EIS GATS and/or MRETS and/or NARR, or the Bidder must certify to having no impediment to obtaining an account with one of these tracking systems for the transfer or retirement of RECs under the applicable supplier contract.

A Bidder is not allowed to post cash for purposes of satisfying the requirements of the Part 2 Proposal (however, please note that a Bidder with Bids approved by the Commission may post cash under the terms of the applicable supplier contract).

A Bidder that intends to submit Bids for a Company’s Products must submit by the deadline for Part 2 Proposals an executed Pre-Bid Letter of Credit drawn for the account of the Bidder in an amount sufficient to support the Bids. The Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for a Company must be in an amount no less than $2 times the number of RECs for which the Bidder is placing a Bid across all Products (i.e., all locations) for the Company or $10,000, whichever is greater. The maximum amount for the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for Ameren is $60,424. The maximum amount for the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for ComEd is $99,500.

The Pre-Bid Letter of Credit must be in the form of the Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit or incorporate only modifications approved by the Company and posted to the procurement website. The Pre-Bid Letter of Credit must be issued by a bank that satisfies the rating requirements of Paragraph 14 of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit. A Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for a Company is delivered directly to the Company according to the instructions provided in the RFP Rules.

Inserts for the 2015 Spring REC RFP can be found on the “Renewable Energy Resources Section” of the procurement web site under the “Spring 2015 REC RFP Documents” heading. Inserts are grouped in four categories: Inserts For Bidders on Ameren Products ONLY; Inserts For Bidders on ComEd Products ONLY; Inserts For Bidders on Ameren AND ComEd Products; and Inserts for Bidders With Special Circumstances. Each Bidder downloads the zip file applicable to its particular circustances.

The Ameren Comment Insert (#P1-5) and the ComEd Comment Insert (#P1-8) are provided for Qualifying Bidders to propose modifications to the changes to the Letters of Credit relative to the previously used Letters of Credit. The Inserts 1) show the changes that have been made relative to the previously used Letters of Credit; 2) allow Bidders to provide comments corresponding to each change to a Letter of Credit; and 3) allow Bidders to propose modifications to the paragraphs for which a change has been made (the Insert will use the track changes feature in Word).

Bidders qualify separately to submit Bids for ComEd or Ameren by submitting to the certifications that are specific to ComEd or Ameren, by accepting the terms of the applicable supplier contract that is specific to ComEd or Ameren, and by submitting different pre-bid letters of credit with different terms and a different beneficiary. There is one Bid Form, which is an excel file with two tabs, one tab for ComEd and one tab for Ameren. Bids are submitted separately for each Company and Bids are evaluated separately for each Company. Thus, if a Bidder bids 100 RECs for Ameren and 100 RECs for ComEd, the Bidder can win up to 200 RECs.

Your understanding is correct. A Bid Participation Fee is only required of Bidders that have not already paid a Bid Participation Fee pursuant to participation in a 2015 procurement event and that submit a Part 1 Proposal.

All notices and communications relating to guaranties should be sent to Tim Moloney with a copy to Dave Brueggerman.

Yes. The Procurement Administrator will send an announcement to all Registrants to the IPA RFP web site once the presentation materials and the audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on March 25, 2015 have been posted.

The qualification process is designed to be streamlined and intuitive. The Part 1 and Part 2 forms are available to be completed online in order to minimize the amount of work required by Bidders. The amount of time it takes to prepare the proposals will likely depend on whether the Bidder has participated in a previous procurement event.

Yes, the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit and Post-Bid Letter of Credit are separate documents with different terms. The standard form of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for Ameren and the Pre-Bid letter of Credit for ComEd are provided as Appendix 7 and 8 to the RFP Rules, respectively. The standard form of Post-Bid Letter of Credit for Ameren is Exhibit C to the Ameren Renewable Energy Credit Agreement and the standard form of the Post-Bid Letter of Credit for ComEd is Schedule 1A to the ComEd Master Purchase and Sale Agreement.

The Pre-Bid Letter of Credit is submitted with the Part 2 Proposal and is valid during the bid period; the Expiration Date must be no earlier than May 11, 2015. The terms of the Post-Bid Letters of Credit are designed to be applicable throughout the supply period.

Yes. For each of the two Products for a Company, the Bidder may submit bids with different prices understanding, however, that the Bidder may not bid on portions or fractions of one REC. In the bid form, for a given bid price, the Bidder provides the corresponding number of RECs offered at that price. For example, a Bidder may submit a bid for a Company for 50 RECs produced by a solar photovoltaic renewable energy resource located within Illinois or within a state adjoining Illinois at one price and a bid for another 50 RECs for this same product at another price.

No, there is no minimum quantity of RECs that must bid by a Bidder.

No. Since the counterparty to the application supplier contract for the REC RFP is either ComEd or Ameren, and not the Illinois Power Agency, Bidders are not required to register to do business in the state of Illinois.