Chapter 8

 

Energy Resource Procurement for Affected Electric Utilities

 

 

Section 1. Authority. These rules are promulgated under the Commission's authority in Wyoming Statute § 37-2-136.

 

Section 2. Purpose.

 

(a) The rules contained in this Chapter are intended to provide an opportunity to establish a fair, objective, and transparent competitive bidding process, without unduly restricting affected electric utilities from acquiring new resources and negotiating mutually beneficial terms.

 

(b) This Chapter does not waive the requirements for affected electric utilities to file an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

 

(c) This process does not constitute a determination of any rate making issues.

 

Section 3. Definitions.

 

(a) "Request for Proposal (RFP)" means the documents used for soliciting proposals from prospective bidders, that defines the resource need, including specific attributes or characteristics the affected electric utility is soliciting, such as the amount and duration of power, time and locational attributes, operational attributes, the type of technology or fuel source necessary to meet a compliance requirement, and any additional information necessary for potential bidders to make a complete bid.

 

(b) "Independent Evaluator" means a third party, not affiliated with the affected electric utility or potential bidders, that provides oversight of the RFP solicitation process and bid evaluations as required in these rules.

 

(c) "Dependable" means expected useful life.

 

Section 4. Applicability. An affected electric utility must comply with the rules in this Chapter when it seeks to construct, acquire, or contract for energy or a significant energy resource, or capacity, including generation and storage resources, if any of the following apply:

 

(a) An affected electric utility, or an affiliate, contracts, acquires, or constructs new generating capacity, or purchases of a resource, consisting of a total of one hundred (100) megawatts or more of new generating capacity with a dependable life of ten (10) or more years;

 

(b) The purchase or lease of electricity, electric generating capacity, or both, if the contract is for a term of ten (10) or more years and a total of one hundred (100) megawatts or more; or;

 

(c) If the affected electric utility is considering repowering a resource to meet a resource need, the affected electric utility must submit its repowering project as a bid during the RFP solicitation process.

 

Section 5. Application. Before commencing an RFP solicitation process, the affected electric utility, each time, shall file an application with the Commission that includes:

 

(a) Descriptions of the criteria and the methodology, including any weighting and ranking factors, to be used to evaluate bids, which shall include;

 

(i) A sample evaluation rubric that quantifies, where possible, the weight the affected electric utility shall give each criterion during the bid ranking procedure, and provides a detailed explanation of the aspects of each criterion that would result in the bid receiving higher priority;

 

(b) A detailed timeline for each stage of the RFP process including solicitation, ranking, and selection, as well as the affected electric utility's schedule of planned informational activities and contact information for the RFP;

 

(c) A discussion of the impact of any applicable regulation on RFP development, including the requirements imposed by other states for the RFP process;

 

(d) A list of potentially interested parties to whom the affected electric utility has notified or will notify of the filing of the request for approval of the proposed RFP solicitation with the Commission; and

 

(e) Any other information as the Commission may require.

 

Section 6. Waivers. Upon application for a waiver, or on the Commission's own motion, the Commission may waive any requirement in this Chapter if it determines that waiving the requirement is in the public interest or a clear public emergency exists, a time limited commercial or technical opportunity that provides value to the customers of the affected electrical utility, or any other factor that makes waiving the requirement in the public interest. An affected electric utility must apply for a waiver prior to or concurrent with the initiation of a resource acquisition.

 

Section 7.  Evaluation and Ranking of Bids.

 

(a) The affected electric utility must provide all proposed and final scoring criteria and metrics in the draft and final RFPs filed with the Commission.

 

(b) An affected electric utility's RFP ranking criteria must recognize resource cost, market-volatility risks, demand-side resource uncertainties and benefits, resource dispatchability, transmission and interconnection constraints, resource impact on system operation, credit and financial risks to the affected electric utility, risks imposed on ratepayers, public policies regarding resource preference, and Wyoming state or federal government requirements.

 

(c) The affected electric utility and any Independent Evaluator selected by the affected electric utility shall score and rank the qualifying bids using the RFP's ranking criteria and methodology. If a bid includes unexpected content, the affected electric utility may modify the ranking criteria but must notify all bidders of the change, describe the change, and provide an opportunity for other bidders to modify their bids.

 

(d) Within thirty (30) days after the close of the bidding period, the affected electric utility must post on its public website a summary of each bid received. Where use of confidential data prohibits the affected electric utility from identifying specifics of a bid, a generic but complete description is sufficient.

 

(e) Within thirty (30) days after executing an agreement for acquisition of a resource, the affected electric utility must file the executed agreement and supporting documents with the Commission.

 

Section 8. Retention of Independent Evaluator.

 

(a) Unless a waiver is approved, the Commission may appoint an Independent Evaluator.

 

(b) If the Commission selects an Independent Evaluator, the affected electric utility:

 

(i) shall engage the services of the Independent Evaluator and pay all associated fees and expenses; and

 

(ii) may seek to defer such costs for later recovery in a general rate case filing or propose other methods to recover the cost of the Independent Evaluator, subject to Commission approval.

 

Section 9. Independent Evaluator Functions.

 

(a) The Independent Evaluator shall:

 

(i) Actively monitor the RFP solicitation approval process for fairness, transparency and compliance with W.S. § 37-2-136 and Commission rules;

 

(ii) Evaluate the risks, burdens, and benefits of each bid;

 

(iii) Review the affected electric utility's scoring of the bids and selection of the initial and final shortlists for reasonableness;

 

(iv) Develop one (1) or more reports addressing the RFP solicitation approval process. The report(s) shall include;

 

(A) An evaluation of the RFP solicitation process and the results of the bid approval process including any concerns, opinions and conclusions of the Independent Evaluator;

 

(B) An opinion as to whether the RFP solicitation approval process is fair, in compliance with this Chapter and whether any modeling used by the affected electrical utility regarding the RFP solicitation is sufficient; and

 

(C) Any additional analysis the Commission requests for inclusion in the final report; and

 

(v) Perform other functions as directed by the Commission.