Zero Emission Credits RFP (AIC, ComEd, and MEC)
Public Act 99-0906 (the “Future Energy Jobs Bill”) was signed into law on December 7, 2016 and became effective June 1, 2017. This legislation calls for the procurement of Zero Emission Credits from zero emission facilities in an amount approximately equal to 16% of the electricity delivered by the utilities calendar year in 2014 for AIC and ComEd, and 16% of the power and energy procured by the IPA for the 2016-2017 delivery year for MEC. This procurement event is held through the Zero Emission Credits RFP or “ZEC RFP”.
Information regarding bidder eligibility is on the IPA website and linked below.
2017 – 2018 ZEC RFP Calendar (October 31, 2018)
Click here to view ZEC FAQs
Zero Emission Credits RFP Public Release
FINAL Zero Emission Credits Contract Documents
- Final ZEC Contract (November 29, 2017)
Redline Comparisons
FINAL Zero Emission Credits RFP Documents
- Zero Emission Credit RFP Rules (Page 5 Update) (November 06, 2017)
- Appendix 2: Illustrative Proposal Form (November 06, 2017)
- Appendix 3: AIC Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit (November 09, 2017)
- Appendix 4: ComEd Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit (November 09, 2017)
- Appendix 5: MEC Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit (November 09, 2017)
- Appendix 6: Confidentiality Statement (November 09, 2017)
Standard Contract Form Comment Process
DRAFT ZEC Contract
Zero Emission Credits FAQs
Click on the question to see the answer:
Should we provide one Proposal for each facility?
No. Each entity that presents a response to the ZEC RFP and that would, if successful, sign the ZEC Contract is a “Bidder” and submits a single Proposal. A Bidder may present multiple Zero Emission Facilities in its Proposal.
Is a single officer required to make all of the certifications required by the Proposal? Is that same officer required to be the individual to sign the Bid Form and to execute the ZEC Contract? What process should we follow if the individual who signs the certifications of Section 3 of the Proposal Form and of Attachment #2 is not available to sign the Bid Form or to execute the ZEC Contract?
Yes, a single officer is required to make all of the certifications required by the Proposal, including making the certifications required by the Bid Form. If the Officer of the Bidder who makes the certifications required by Section 3 of the Proposal Form and required by Attachment #2 is no longer available to sign the Bid Form, the Bidder must name a new individual to serve as Officer of the Bidder by providing the contact information required by Section 1 of the Proposal Form and by resubmitting all of the certifications required by the Proposal including the certifications in Section 3 of the Proposal Form and Attachment #2.
The individual named as Officer of the Bidder is also expected, but not required, to be the individual who executes the ZEC Contract. Should the Bidder be notified that it is a winning supplier and the Officer of the Bidder is not available to sign the ZEC Contract, the Bidder should advise the Companies as soon as practicable and provide the name of another individual who is similarly empowered to undertake contracts and bind the Bidder and who will execute the ZEC Contracts.
When does the Procurement Administrator expect to provide a response to proposed modifications to the Pre-Bid Letters of Credit?
A Bidder may provide comments on or propose modifications to the Standard Pre-Bid letter of Credit for one or more of the Companies. Such Bidder will receive a response indicating whether each proposed modification is acceptable to that Company within two (2) business days.
Before providing such comments, please consult the preliminary list of acceptable modifications applicable to each Company posted to the Final Materials page of the Zero Emission Credits Section of the procurement website. A final list of modifications for use by all Bidders on an optional basis for each Company will be posted no later than December 8, 2017.
Paragraph III.6.3 states that a Bid Form must be received between 10 AM and 12 PM (noon) on the Bid Date of January 10, 2018. Why is there a set time to submit the Bid Form and can Bidders have additional time if there are deficiencies related to the Bid Form?
A Bid Window of 10 AM and 12 PM (noon) has been set in advance in order to allow individuals representing the Bidder to plan to be available when the Procurement Administrator calls to acknowledge and assess the Bid Form. Once the Bid Form has been received, the Procurement Administrator will acknowledge the receipt of the Bid Form by phone within 15 minutes and provide the assessment of the Bid Form. Bidders are encouraged to submit early in the Bid Window to have time to address any deficiencies. The Procurement Administrator will provide written instructions regarding submission of the Bid Form when the Bid Form is sent to each Bidder.
No late Bid Forms will be accepted and additional time will not be provided.
We understand that the Procurement Administrator will call Bidders within 15 minutes of receipt of the Bid Form on the Bid Date to acknowledge receipt and provide an assessment of the Bid Form. Can a Bidder request from the Procurement Administrator a written notice via email of receipt or of the assessment of the Bid Form?
The Procurement Administrator will only provide an assessment of the Bid Form via phone within 15 minutes of receipt. Upon request, the Procurement Administrator can confirm via email receipt of a Bid Form that is complete and consistent with the RFP Rules. Please note that the Procurement Administrator does not expect to be able to provide such written email confirmation with 15 minutes of receipt of the Bid Form.
Can you clarify the roles of the Representatives that we name on the Proposal Form?
The Bidder must name one (1) Representative and the Bidder may name up to three (3) additional Representatives on the Proposal Form. The procurement Administrator sends all correspondence related to the procurement event to each of the Representatives, including information required to submit the Bid Form on the Bid Date.
Is the Representative of the Bidder named in the Proposal Form the individual who will be contacted on the Bid Date with the Procurement Administrator’s assessment of the Bid Form?
Not necessarily. The Bid Form will require the Bidder to provide contact information for a representative of the Bidder. This is the individual that the Procurement Administrator will call to acknowledge receipt and provide the assessment of the Bid Form. This representative does not have to be one of the Representatives named in the Proposal Form.
We submitted comments on the draft ZEC Contract. Will we have an opportunity to discuss our comments with the Illinois Power Agency?
Thank you for submitting comments on the draft ZEC Contract. Your comments will be reviewed by representatives from the IPA, AIC, ComEd, MEC, the Procurement Administrator, the Procurement Monitor, and Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission. The final version of the ZEC Contract, which will account for comments received prior to the deadline of November 10, 2017, is expected to be posted on November 29, 2017.
Can we submit the Proposal Form or any of the supporting documents before the Proposal Due Date of December 12, 2017?
The Proposal Window opened on November 14, 2017 and Bidders may submit any portion of their Proposal at any time, but in no event later than 12 PM (noon) on December 12, 2017. Bidders may elect to provide a portion of their Proposal prior to the Proposal Due Date for assessment by the Procurement Administrator.
The RFP Rules state that the Procurement Administrator will send a Bid Form to each Bidder by January 8, 2018. If we provide Attachment #2 prior to the deadline of January 4, 2018, can we receive our Bid Form prior to that date?
It is possible that Bidders will receive the Bid Form prior to January 8. Once Attachment #2 and all other components of the Proposal have been received from a Bidder and are complete, the Procurement Administrator will endeavour to send the Bid Form within two (2) business days.
Will an estimate of the Supplier Fee be provided in advance of announcing the final amount?
No. An estimate of the Supplier Fee will not be provided. The Procurement Administrator will inform Bidders of the amount of the Supplier Fee no later than 6 PM two business days before the Bid Date.
What will be the Bid Form requirements?
The Bid Form will require a Bidder to provide contact information for a representative of the Bidder. The Bid Form will also require the Bidder to make the certifications provided in Paragraph III.6.2 of the RFP Rules. The Procurement Administrator will provide written instructions for filling out all required information on the Bid Form when the Bid Form is sent to the Bidder.
Section III.4.3 states that a Bidder may provide comments on or propose modifications to the Standard PRE-Bid Letter of Credit for a Company exclusively by submitting a redline to the POST-Bid Letter of Credit for that Company. Can you confirm that this is a typographical error and that we should submit a redline of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit with our comments or requests for modifications?
Confirmed. Bidders may provide comments on or propose modifications to the Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for a Company exclusively by submitting a redline of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for that Company in Microsoft Word format.
Will the utilities accept surety bonds for performance assurance?
The utilities will not accept surety bonds for performance assurance.
Can you also confirm that, if the Collateral Threshold Amount for the Seller in Table 1 is greater than the Collateral Requirement, then a Seller will not need to post any performance assurance (assuming no other relevant credit exposures)?
Under the assumption that there is no other credit exposure to the Buyer arising from contracts entered into by Seller or affiliates of Seller with Buyer, then the Seller’s Collateral Threshold Amount is determined by Table 1 of the ZEC Contract. If the Collateral Threshold Amount is greater than the Collateral Requirement, then a Seller need not post any Performance Assurance. Please see Section 4.3 of the Master ZEC Agreement as amended by the Cover Sheet for more information.
We note that the ZEC Cost Cap for 2017/2018 is provided in the Zero Emission Standard Procurement Plan. Given that this figure is known, can you please provide the Performance Assurance amounts that would need to be posted to each utility per section 4.3(a) of the ZEC Contract?
Pursuant to the ICC Order approving the Zero Emission Standard Procurement Plan, the calculation of the ZEC Cost Cap must be net of all applicable fees and charges related to the administration of the ZEC Contract. At this time, the estimate of applicable fees and charges related to the administration of the ZEC Contract for the first Delivery Year is not yet available. The calculation will be provided no later than 2 weeks after an ICC approval of the results of the RFP by the ICC. Please see Section 2(e)(xv) of the ZEC Contract and Section 4.3 of the Master ZEC Agreement as amended by the Cover Sheet for more information.
Generally speaking, the Performance Assurance due is the difference between the Collateral Requirement and the Collateral Threshold Amount. For your convenience, we identify some of the components to the calculation of the Performance Assurance due.
The Collateral Threshold Amount is an unsecured credit line that is granted to Seller and is more fully defined in section 4.3(b) of the Master ZEC Agreement. For the first Delivery Year, the Collateral Requirement is equal to 20% of the Annual Contract Value where:
Annual Contract Value = $16.50 x Seller’s Share of Award x Annual Utility Cost-Constrained Quantity;
Annual Utility Cost-Constrained Quantity = ZEC Cost Cap / $16.50; and
ZEC Cost Cap = (applicable Utility ZEC Cost Recovery Rate x Applicable Load) – estimate of all applicable fees and charges related to the administration of the ZEC Contract.
Is the ZEC Contract with a utility intended to be executed once by a Seller with multiple Zero Emission Facilities or is the Seller executing one ZEC Contract for each Zero Emission Facility? In the latter case, how would the Seller be identified in the ZEC Contract?
A Seller executes with a utility one ZEC Contract for each Zero Emission Facility approved by the Commission. The Seller will be identified as “[Name of Company] for [Name of Zero Emission Facility]” in the introductory paragraph of the ZEC Contract.
Please provide the final list of acceptable modifications to the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for each Company.
The final list of acceptable modifications to the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for each Company are the documents dated November 10, 2017 on the procurement website. There were no modifications added to these lists during the proposal window.