Request for Proposals
Appliance Efficiency Standards: Compliance Market Survey and Gap Analysis
RFP-16-402
www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/
State of California
California Energy Commission
February 2017
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 1
Purpose of RFP 1
Key Activities and Dates 1
Available Funding and How Award is Determined 1
Eligible Bidders 2
Pre-Bid Conference 2
Questions 3
Contact Information 4
Responses to this RFP 4
Reference Documents 4
II. Scope of Work and Deliverables 4
About This Section 4
Background/Problem Statement 5
General Requirements or Goals and Objectives 5
III. Proposal Format, Required Documents, and Delivery 14
About This Section 14
Required Format for a Proposal 14
Number of Copies 14
Packaging and Labeling 14
Preferred Method for Delivery 14
Organize Your Proposal As Follows 15
IV. Evaluation Process and Criteria 18
About This Section 18
Proposal Evaluation 18
Scoring Scale 19
Notice of Proposed Award 19
V. Business Participation Programs (Preferences/Incentives) 21
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) 21
Compliance Requirements 21
DVBE Incentive 24
Small Business / Microbusiness / Non-Small Business 25
VI. Administration 28
RFP Defined 28
Definition of Key Words 28
Cost of Developing Proposal 28
Software Application Development 28
Printing Services 29
Confidential Information 29
Darfur Contracting Act of 2008 29
California Civil Rights Laws 29
RFP Cancellation and Amendments 29
Errors 30
Modifying or Withdrawal of Proposal 30
Immaterial Defect 30
Disposition of Bidder’s Documents 30
Bidders’ Admonishment 30
Grounds to Reject a Proposal 30
Protest Procedures 31
Agreement Requirements 32
Attachments1 / Contractor Status Form
2 / Darfur Contracting Act
3 / DVBE Std. 843
4 / Bidder Declaration form GSPD-05-105
5 / Contractor Certification Clauses
6 / Client References
7 / Budget Forms
8 / Sample Standard Agreement
9 / California Civil Rights Laws Certification
February 2017 Page i RFP-16-402
I. Introduction
Purpose of RFP
The purpose of this RFP is to solicit a contractor to conduct a market survey to assess the extent of compliance with California’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations, Title 20 §1601-1609, to identify gaps in compliance, and to propose strategies to increase compliance rates. The Contractor will conduct surveys of new regulated appliances sold or offered for sale in California, and verify that they are certified in the Energy Commission’s Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS). The contractor will identify gaps in compliance and provide an analysis of appliance groups and market participants that have the highest rate of non-compliance and make recommendations on types of outreach efforts to increase compliance for those groups identified. The results of the market surveys will enable the Energy Commission to focus its education and outreach efforts on identified groups responsible for certifying appliances or offering for sale those regulated appliance types for which there is the most noncompliance.
Key Activities and Dates
Key activities including dates and times for this RFP are presented below. An addendum will be released if the dates change for the asterisked (*) activities.
ACTIVITY / ACTION DATERFP Release / February 1, 2017
Deadline for Written Questions * / February 7, 2017
Pre-Bid Conference * / February 7, 2017
Distribute Questions/Answers and Addenda (if any) to RFP / February 14, 2017
Deadline to Submit Proposals by 5:00 p.m. * / March 1, 2017
Clarification Interviews (If necessary) / March 7, 2017
Notice of Proposed Award / March 13, 2017
Commission Business Meeting / May 10, 2017
Contract Start Date / June 30, 2017
Contract Termination Date / March 30, 2019
Available Funding and How Award is Determined
There is a maximum of up to $125,000 available for the contract resulting from this RFP. This is an hourly rate plus cost reimbursement contract and the award will be made to the responsible Bidder that passes technical scoring and provides the lowest cost, after any applicable preference or incentive.
The Commission reserves the right to reduce the contract amount to an amount deemed appropriate in the event the budgeted funds do not provide full funding of Commission contracts. In this event, the Contractor and Commission Agreement Manager (CAM) shall meet and reach agreement on a reduced scope of work commensurate with the level of available funding.
Eligible Bidders
This is an open solicitation for public and private entities. Each agreement resulting from this solicitation includes terms and conditions that set forth the contractor’s rights and responsibilities. Private sector entities must agree to use the attached standard terms and conditions (Attachment 8). The University of California, California State University or U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories must use either the standard or the pre-negotiated terms and conditions at the following website: (http://www.dgs.ca.gov/ols/Resources/StandardContractLanguage.aspx). The Energy Commission will not award agreements to non-complying entities. The Energy Commission reserves the right to modify the terms and conditions prior to executing agreements.
All corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) that conduct intrastate business in California are required to be registered and in good standing with the California Secretary of State prior to its project being recommended for approval at an Energy Commission Business Meeting.If not currently registered with the California Secretary of State, applicants are encouraged to contact the Secretary of State’s Office as soon as possible to avoid potential delays in beginning the proposed project(s) (should the application be successful).For more information, contact the Secretary of State’s Office via its website at www.sos.ca.gov.Sole proprietors using a fictitious business name must be registered with the appropriate county and provide evidence of registration to the Energy Commission prior to their project being recommended for approval at an Energy Commission Business Meeting.
Pre-Bid Conference
There will be one Pre-Bid Conference; participation in this meeting is optional butencouraged. The Pre-Bid Conference will be held at the date, time and location listed below. Please call (916) 654-4381 or refer to the Energy Commission's website at www.energy.ca.gov to confirm the date andtime.
______
1:30 p.m.
California Energy Commission
Charles Imbrecht Room
1516 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 654-4381
Topic: Pre-Bid Conference for Appliance Compliance Market Survey and Gap Analysis
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Time: 1:30 p.m., Pacific Standard Time
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Questions
During the RFP process, questions of clarification about this RFP must be directed to the Contracts Officer listed in the following section. You may ask questions at the Pre-Bid Conference, and you may submit written questions via mail, electronic mail, and by FAX. However, all technical questions must be received by 5:00 pm on the day of the Pre-Bid Conference.
The questions and answers will be posted on the Commission’s website at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/index.html.
Any verbal communication with a Commission employee concerning this RFP is not binding on the State and shall in no way alter a specification, term, or condition of the RFP. Therefore, all communication should be directed in writing to the Energy Commission’s Contract Officer assigned to the RFP.
Contact Information
Brad Worster, Contracts Officer
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street, MS-18
Sacramento, California 95814
Telephone: (916) 654-4299
FAX: (916) 654-4423
E-mail:
Responses to this RFP
Responses to this solicitation shall be in the form of a Technical and Cost Proposal according to the format described in this RFP. The Technical Proposal shall document the Bidder’s approach, experience, qualifications, and project organization to perform the tasks described in the Scope of Work, and the Cost Proposal shall detail the Bidder’s budget to perform such tasks.
Reference Documents
Bidders responding to this RFP may want to familiarize themselves with the following documents and websites:
· Appliance Efficiency Regulations
The Energy Commission promulgates appliance efficiency regulations that require manufacturers of various new appliances sold or offered for sale in California to test them using specified test methods. Covered appliances include refrigerators, air conditioners, heaters, plumbing fittings/fixtures, lighting, washers, dryers, cooking products, electric motors, transformers, power supplies, televisions, and battery charger systems.
Additional information: http://www.bsc.ca.gov/; http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/
Applicable Law: California Code of Regulations, Title 20, Division 2, Chapter 4, Article 4, §§ 1601 et. seq.
· Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS)
All appliances regulated under Title 20 must be certified to the California Energy Commission using MAEDBS. https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Login.aspx
II. Scope of Work and Deliverables
About This Section
This section describes the contract scope of work, deliverables and due dates under the direction of the Commission Agreement Manager (CAM).
Background/Problem Statement
The California Energy Commission’s (Energy Commission) Appliance Efficiency Program was developed to increase the energy efficiency of appliances sold or offered for sale to California consumers and businesses. Under the Warren-Alquist Act [Public Resources Code §25402(c)(1)], the Energy Commission is directed to develop, implement, and enforce standards that require either appropriate minimum energy or water efficiencies or maximum energy or water consumption allowances for each category of regulated appliances. To accomplish this Appliance Efficiency Regulations (Regulations) found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 20, Division 2, Chapter 4, Article 4, Sections 1601-1608), were adopted on November 3, 1976. Since then, these regulations have been updated with the most recent amendments adopted in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
The Regulations specify that new, regulated appliances must meet or exceed specified standards and be certified and listed in the Energy Commission’s Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS) if they are sold or offered for sale in California. Periodically it is necessary to survey the marketplace to determine which regulated appliances are not in compliance with appliance efficiency regulations, to identify the reasons for noncompliance, and to conduct outreach and education efforts intended to increase compliance.
To best target those outreach and education efforts, the Energy Commission needs to understand where compliance gaps exist in the California market and how best to conduct its outreach to address those gaps.
General Requirements or Goals and Objectives
OBJECTIVES OF THE AGREEMENT
The objective of this agreement is to assess the extent of compliance with the Title 20 California Appliance Efficiency Regulations via a survey of retail and wholesale outlets and internet sites, to identify gaps in compliance, and to make recommendations on specific outreach and education topics and activities targeted to reach the most non-compliant market participants with the goal of increasing compliance with Title 20 Regulations.
TASK LIST
Task # / Task Name /1 / Agreement Management
2 / Market Surveys (Internet, Retail, Wholesale, and Additional Surveys as Needed)
3 / Gap Analysis and Follow-up Surveys
4 / Final Summary Report : Analysis of Intervention Strategies Best Suited for California Appliance Program
ACRONYMS/GLOSSARY
Specific acronyms and terms used throughout this scope of work are defined as follows:
Acronym / Definition /CAM / Commission Agreement Manager
MAEDBS / Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System
GOALS and OBJECTIVES OF THE AGREEMENT
The purpose of this agreement is to conduct a market survey to assess the extent of compliance with the Regulations in the California market, to identify gaps in compliance, and to make recommendations on specific outreach and education topics and activities and targeted market participants to increase compliance. The Contractor will conduct surveys of new appliances sold or offered for sale in California in retail and wholesale outlets and via the internet. The contractor will identify gaps in compliance with the regulations and will provide an analysis of appliance groups and market participants that have the highest rate of non-compliance. The contractor will conduct follow-up surveys by internet/e-mail or telephone with the non-compliant entities and determine the reasons for non-compliance.
The Contractor will propose and analyze three different intervention strategies that California could implement to ensure successfully that only compliant appliances are sold in California. This analysis will discuss the pros and cons of implementing each strategy, weighing each on its relative merits and recommend the best intervention strategies for each of the groups that are obligated to meet the requirements of the standards (e.g., manufacturers, distributors, other sellers). If the analysis shows that different intervention strategies should be applied to manufacturers and distributors of different categories of regulated appliances, the report should specify which strategies apply to each appliance category.
List of Appliances to Survey1 / Air Filters for Residential HVAC
2 / Battery Charger Systems (small, large)
3 / Ceiling Fans
4 / Ceiling Fan Light Kits
5 / Deep-dimming Florescent Lamp Ballasts
6 / Faucets (kitchen, lavatory)
7 / General Service Incandescent Lamps
8 / General Service LED Lamps
9 / Heat-pump Water Heating Packages
10 / Mini-Tank Electric Water Heaters
11 / Portable Electric Spas
12 / Portable Luminaires
13 / Replacement Residential Pool Pump Motors
14 / Residential Exhaust Fans
15 / Residential Pool Pumps & Motor Combinations
16 / Residential Wine Chillers
17 / Room Air Conditioners
18 / Showerheads
19 / Small-diameter Directional Lamps
20 / Televisions
21 / Toilets
22 / Tub Spout Diverters
23 / Urinals
24 / Whole House Fans
To Be Determined *
* The CAM may require Contractor to survey three additional appliance types. It is anticipated that such requests would be made for purposes of: (1) gathering information to respond to or address specific compliance matters received by the Energy Commission; (2) collecting compliance data on a given appliance type (see Task 4); (3) or if new appliances are added to Title 20.