Maryland Public Service Commission
Invitation to Bid – PSC# 10-01-07
Title:Depreciation testimony
Issue Date:May 14, 2007
Bids Due:May 17, 2007 (12:00 Noon)
Contract Period:6 months
Cost:Not-to-exceed $25,000
1.Purpose:
1.1The purpose of the Invitation to Bid (“ITB”) is to procure expert consulting services for a depreciation witness (“Consultant”) to represent the Technical Staff (“Staff”) of the Maryland Public Service Commission in a proceeding (Case No. 9096) before the Maryland Public Service Commission (“Commission”).
2.Background Information:
2.1The Commission instituted the above-mentioned proceeding to review a depreciation study filed by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (“BGE”) on January 3, 2007.
2.2Case No. 9096 (“Case” or “proceeding”) calls for the filing of pre-filed written testimony on or around May 21, 2007. The procedural schedule calls for rebuttal testimony at the end of June and hearings on July 23-24, 2007.
2.3 There has been some discovery regarding the BGE depreciation study and the filing of BGE testimony in support of the study.
3.Technical Requirements:
3.1The primary requirement is for the Consultant to prepare reply and rebuttal depreciation testimony on behalf of Staff in Case 9096to (1) complete the record concerning the proper recovery method for removal costs, and (2) to make recommendations on this issue to the Commission consistent with Staff’s statutory role. See Public Utility Companies Article § 3-104.
3.2Secondarily, the Consultant shall assist the Staff the throughout the proceeding by reviewing and commenting on cross-examination questions and legal briefs filed in the Case relating to depreciation issues.
4.Scope of Work and Deliverables:
4.1Consistent with Staff’s statutory role in proceedings, the Consultant must discuss the primary methods for recovering costs for negative net salvage and make recommendations to the Commission related to this issue.
4.2The Consultant must submit to the Staff for filing with the Commission written questions and answer testimony for reply and rebuttal phases of the proceeding. Submit or provide surrebuttal or other testimony, if necessary, to complete the record evidence in the proceeding.
4.3The Consultant shall testify at hearings in the proceeding in Baltimore, MD, which are currently scheduled for July 23-24, 2007, but may change if necessary at the discretion of the Hearing Examiner and/or Commission.
4.4The Consultant shall assist the Staff in the preparation of cross-examination of other party witnesses concerning depreciation testimony and the Consultant shall assist the Staff by reviewing and commenting on Staff’s legal briefs for Case 9096.
5.Mandatory Minimum Consultant Qualifications:
5.1The Consultant shall have testified in state regulatory proceedings involving the establishment of depreciation rates within the last four years.
5.2The Consultant shall have experience presenting methodologies to State Commissions for determining the proper regulatory treatment for collecting from ratepayers the cost to remove and/or retire assets at the end of the assets’ useful service lives.
5.3The Consultant and the consulting firm must not have opposed the methodology for collecting removal costs that is consistent with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 143, Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations.
5.4The Consultant and the consulting firm shall not have represented nor had any business relations with BGE,its parent, or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries within the past five years.
5.5Each bidder shall submit three references and provide a copy of the last three written testimonies that the Consultant has provided in a State regulatory proceeding concerning depreciation issues.
6.Proposals:
6.1The proposal must include a brief summary of how the Consultant proposes to accomplish the scope of work and provide the required deliverables.
6.2The proposal shall include documentation of the Consultant’s qualifications.
6.3The proposal shall contain the rate per hour for each person that the Consultant or consulting firm will assign to this matter, include an estimate of the anticipated expenses such as supplies, materials, transportation, etc; and include the total fees and expenses for the work.
The proposal shall not exceed $25,000.
7.Additional Information:
7.1Additional information about this ITB may be obtained from James W. Boone, Acting Staff Counsel, 410-767-8086, or e-mail .
7.2An executed small procurement contract containing the bidders fixed price, not to exceed $25,000, shall accompany the technical proposal (Attached).
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