In accordance with Section V.3. of the RFP Rules, as a necessary part of preparing the Proposal, the Seller may discuss material information relating to the Proposal with the Bidder, with Owners, or with other Sellers whose Projects are presented by the Bidder. Furthermore, the Seller or Bidder may communicate with a financial institution for purposes of arranging posting of bid assurance collateral; may communicate with contractors, subcontractors, or other parties for purposes of meeting labor related requirements; and may communicate with advisors. Other than such communications with the parties named in this paragraph, the Officer of the Seller must certify that “the Seller has no knowledge of any Proposal submitted by another Bidder in response to this RFP” and “with the exception of communications: (i) with Owners, (ii) with other Sellers whose Projects are presented by the Bidder, (iii) with a financial institution for the purpose of arranging payment of the bid assurance collateral, (iv) with contractors, subcontractors, and other parties for purposes of meeting labor related requirements, (v) with advisors (if any), or (vi) for the purpose of complying with disclosure requirements imposed on the Bidder or Seller, neither the Seller nor the Bidder has disclosed, and will otherwise disclose, publicly or to any other party any information relating to its Proposal, which could have an effect on whether another party submits a Proposal for this procurement event, or on the contents of such Proposal that another Bidder would be willing to submit. Such information includes but is not limited to: the fact that the Bidder is submitting a Proposal for this procurement event; the Bids for the Project; the Seller’s estimation of the value of RECs; and the Seller’s estimation of the risks associated with providing RECs under the terms of the Indexed REC Contract. This certification must hold until the Commission has rendered its decision on the results of the procurement event”. The Officer of the Seller makes such certifications by completing the P2 Certifications Insert (Insert #P2-4).
Based on the information provided your question, it appears that the Seller would not be able to make the required certifications in the Part 2 Proposal, and in particular, would be unable to certify that “neither the Seller nor the Bidder has disclosed, and will otherwise disclose, publicly or to any other party any information relating to its Proposal, which could have an effect on whether another party submits a Proposal for this procurement event, or on the contents of such Proposal that another Bidder would be willing to submit. Such information includes but is not limited to: the fact that the Bidder is submitting a Proposal for this procurement event”.
Other required certifications include “the Seller has no knowledge of any Proposal submitted by another Bidder in response to this RFP and the Seller is bidding independently.”