RFP-25-803 – Improvements to Modeling Climate Data in Demand Forecasting

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Improvements to Modeling Climate Data in Demand Forecasting

RFP #25-803

www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/

State of California

California Energy Commission

February 2026

Table of Contents

Attachments

1. Contractor Status Form

2. Darfur Contracting Act

3. DVBE Declarations Form (Std. 843)

4. Bidder Declaration Form (GSPD-05-105)

5. Contractor Certification Clauses

6. Client References

7. Budget Forms

8. Sample Standard Agreement

9. Iran Contracting Act

10. California Civil Rights Laws Certification

I. Introduction

Purpose of RFP

To meet California’s energy goals and produce a forecast which accounts for climate change, there is an urgent need to incorporate improved climate data, downscaled projections, and advanced modeling techniques into electricity demand forecasting, system planning tools, and resilience analyses. This solicitation seeks a contractor to provide technical expertise, climate-data processing, and modeling support aligned with ongoing interagency research efforts to continue the work on improving methods for preparing global climate model (GCM) data inputs for use in the CA energy demand forecast. In the 2024 IEPR cycle, CEC staff supported the development of downscaled, bias-corrected projections over California at a 3-kilometer by 3-kilometer spatial resolution and translating the projections into inputs to be used in the forecast to calculate impacts on annual and hourly demand. While the 2023 forecast used hourly output from four Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models localized to specific weather stations used within the CEC’s forecast models, four additional WRF model runs became available during the 2024 cycle. Staff provided a comparison between the two vintages of model run, and the potential impacts of using the new model results which suggest a significantly warmer climate. These findings result in higher loads if used in the forecast. The 2024 and 2025 IEPR cycles have continued to use the initial WRF run data, but work has continued to understand potential ways to incorporate the new WRF model data. This includes analyzing impacts on peak demand, and average level of heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD) from the initial and new WRF runs.

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 DATE
RFP Release	February 23, 2026
Deadline for Written Questions *	March 4, 2026
Pre-Bid Conference *	March 4, 2026
Distribute Questions/Answers and Addenda (if any) to RFP	March 11, 2026
Deadline to Submit Proposals by 11:59 p.m. *	March 25, 2026
Notice of Proposed Award	April 8, 2026
Commission Business Meeting	June 22, 2026
Contract Start Date	July 1, 2026
Contract Termination Date	June 30, 2028

Available Funding and How Award is Determined

There is $400,000 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 receiving the highest points.

The Energy 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 Energy 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 the 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 located at: ( DGS Lab Terms ). 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 (SOS) prior to its project being recommended for approval at an Energy Commission business meeting. If not currently registered with the California Secretary of State, bidders 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, visit the SOS website at https://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 (1) Pre-Bid Conference. Participation in this meeting is optional but encouraged. The Pre-Bid Conference will be held remotely through Zoom at the date, time, and location listed below.

Applicants may attend the workshop via the Internet (Zoom, see instructions below), or via conference call on the date and at the time listed below. Please contact the Commission Agreement Officer (CAO) listed on the next page or refer to the CEC’s website at https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitations to confirm the date and time.

Date: March 4, 2026

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

(Pacific Standard Time)

Zoom Instructions:

To join the Zoom Meeting , go to https://zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID below. Select “join from your browser.” Participants will then enter the meeting password listed below and their name. Participants will select the “Join” button.

Webinar ID: 819 1078 0593

Meeting Passcode: 325177

Topic: Improvements to Modeling Climate Data in Demand Forecasting Pre-Bid Conference

Telephone Access Only:

Call +1 669 219 2599 (Toll-Free) or +1 213 338 8477 (Toll-Free). When prompted, enter the meeting number above. International callers may select a number from the Zoom International Dial-In Number List at https://energy.zoom.us/u/abEf4RINDr . To comment, dial *9 to “raise your hand” and *6 to mute/unmute your phone line.

Access by Mobile Device:

Download the application from the Zoom Download Center at https://energy.zoom.us/download .

Technical Support:

• For assistance with problems or questions about joining or attending the meeting, please call Zoom Technical Support at 1-888-799-9666 extension 2. You may also contact the Public Advisor’s Office by email at publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov or by telephone at 916-269-9595.

• System Requirements : To determine whether your computer is compatible, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux .

• If you have a disability and require assistance to participate, please contact Erica Rodriguez by email at erica.rodriguez@energy.ca.gov or by telephone at
916-764-5705 at least five (5) days in advance of the Pre-Bid Conference.

Questions

During the RFP process, questions of clarification about this RFP must be directed to the Commission Agreement Officer listed in the following section. You may ask questions at the Pre-Bid Conference, and you may submit written questions via electronic mail. However, all 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

https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitations .

Any verbal communication with a CEC 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 Agreement Officer assigned to the RFP.

Contact Information

Natalia Calderon, Commission Agreement Officer

California Energy Commission

715 P Street, MS-18

Sacramento, California 95814

E-mail: natalia.calderon@energy.ca.gov

Responses to this RFP

Responses to this solicitation shall be in the form of an Administrative, Technical and Cost Proposal according to the format described in this RFP. The Administrative response shall include all required administrative documents. 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:

Consultant report: “De-trended Climate Projections for Electricity Demand Forecasting: The New Normals and Extremes” Lumen Energy Strategy, 07-10-2025

De-trended Climate Projection for Electricity Demand Forecasting: The New Normals and Extremes

Consultant report: Methods, QA/QC, and guidance/caveats for the bias correction approaches used for LOCA2-Hybrid and WRF downscaled projections.

Data Adoption Justification Memo (for California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment) Bias Correction in the WRF and LOCA version 2 Projections

Consult report: Methods, QA/QC, and guidance/caveats regarding the approach to selection and evaluation of CMIP6 GCMs that best capture the characteristics of California’s climate.

Memorandum on Evaluating Global Climate Models for Studying Regional Climate Change in California

2024 Integrated Energy Policy Report update

Report

2024 California Energy Demand Forecast

Files

All above reference documents are on display and available for review in the Energy Commission’s Library. Library hours are Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch 12:00-1:00p.m. The Library is located at: California Energy Commission, 715 P Street, Third Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 931-5326.

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 CAM.

Background

California’s electricity system is undergoing a transformative transition toward zero-carbon energy, with major implications for electricity supply, demand, operations, infrastructure, and long-term planning. As climate change accelerates, the electricity system will face increasing stress from heat waves, storms, wildfires, and climate-driven variability in weather patterns. These factors influence hourly load patterns, distributed energy resources, system reliability, and grid planning decisions across multiple time horizons.

Senate Bill 1389 (Bowen, Chapter 568, Statutes of 2002) requires the CEC to prepare a biennial Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR). As required by Public Resources Code 25301(a), the report contains “assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand and prices.” These robust assessments are essential in electric grid system planning and electricity procurement, informing the CAISO Transmission Planning Process, CPUC Integrated Resource Planning, Distribution Planning Process, and Resource Adequacy work, along with other reliability studies such as the SB 100 Joint State Agency Report. The assessments require forecasts estimating the impacts of future weather and climate projections on annual and hourly energy demand. In the 2023 IEPR, CEC began analyzing and leveraging Global Climate Models (GCMs) data to estimate climate trends and incorporate them into the forecast. In the 2024 IEPR cycle, a workshop on July 30, 2024 featured presentations by CEC staff and contractors on the development of downscaled, bias-corrected projections over California at a 3-kilometer by 3-kilometer spatial resolution and translating the projections into inputs to be used in the forecast to calculate impacts on annual and hourly demand. While the 2023 forecast used hourly output from four Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models localized to specific weather stations used within the CEC’s forecast models, four additional WRF model runs became available during the 2024 cycle. Staff compared the two vintages of model runs, and the potential impacts of using the new model results which suggest a significantly warmer climate. These findings result in higher electricity loads if used in the forecast. The 2024 and 2025 IEPR cycles have continued to use the initial WRF run data, but work has continued to understand potential ways to incorporate the new WRF model data. This includes analyzing impacts on peak demand, and average level of heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD) from the initial and new WRF runs.

To meet California’s energy goals and enhance the way that the energy demand forecast accounts for climate change, there is an urgent need to incorporate improved climate data, downscaled projections, and advanced modeling techniques into electricity and gas demand forecasting, system planning tools, and resilience analyses. This solicitation seeks a contractor to provide technical expertise, climate-data processing, and modeling support aligned with ongoing interagency research efforts to continue the work on improving methods for preparing GCM data inputs for use in the CA energy demand forecast.

The selected contractor will:

1. Process and translate climate datasets (WRF, LOCA2-Hybrid, and related downscaled products) into hourly, model-ready inputs suitable for energy system planning tools.

2. Support evaluation and refinement of modeling approaches, including the creation of stochastic datasets, energy demand forecast models, and analysis of approaches used by state agencies and research partners.

3. Prepare technical documentation, reports, slides, and outreach materials, and support coordination with multiple stakeholder groups.

4. Provide technical troubleshooting, miscellaneous analytical assistance, and ongoing support as directed by the Contract Agreement Manager (CAM).

This effort will strengthen statewide analytic capabilities for integrating climate variability, climate extremes, electrification trends, distributed energy resources, and load-modifying behaviors into energy sector planning.

General Requirements or Goals and Objectives

TASK 1: General Requirements or Goals and Objectives

Task 1.1 Kick-off Meeting

The goal of this task is to establish the lines of communication and procedures for implementing this Agreement.

The Contractor shall:

Attend a “kick-off” meeting with the CAM, and the Commission Agreement Officer (CAO). The meeting will be held virtually. The Contractor shall include their Project Manager, Contracts Administrator, Accounting Officer, and others designated by the CAM in this meeting. The administrative and technical aspects of this Agreement will be discussed at the meeting.

• If necessary, prepare an updated Schedule of Deliverables based on the decisions made in the kick-off meeting

The CAM shall:

• Arrange the meeting including scheduling the date and time

• Provide an agenda to all potential meeting participants prior to the kick-off meeting

Deliverables:

• An Updated Schedule of Deliverables (if applicable)

Task 1.2 Invoices

Expected General Classifications: Accountant, Analyst, Scientist, Engineer, Project Manager, Director

The Contractor shall:

• Prepare invoices for all reimbursable expenses incurred performing work under this Agreement in compliance with the Exhibit B of the Terms and Conditions of the Agreement. Invoices shall be submitted with the same frequency as progress reports (task 1.4). Invoices must be submitted to the Energy Commission’s Accounting Office.

Deliverables:

Invoices

Task 1.3 Manage Subcontractors

The goal of this task is to ensure quality products, to enforce Subcontractor Agreement provisions, and in the event of failure of the Subcontractor to satisfactorily perform services, recommend solution to resolve the problem.

Expected General Classifications: Project Manager, Director

The Contractor shall:

Manage and coordinate Subcontractor activities. The Contractor is responsible for the quality of all Subcontractor work and the CEC will assign all work to the Contractor. If the Contractor decides to add new Subcontractors, they shall 1) comply with the Terms and Conditions of the Agreement, and 2) notify the CAM who will follow the Energy Commission’s process for adding or replacing Subcontractors.

Task 1.4 Progress Reports

The goal of this task is to periodically verify that satisfactory and continued progress is made towards achieving the objectives of this Agreement.

Expected General Classifications: Project Manager, Director

The Contractor shall:

• Prepare progress reports which summarize all Agreement activities conducted by the Contractor for the reporting period, including an assessment of the ability to complete the Agreement within the current budget and any anticipated cost overruns. Each progress report is due within 15 calendar days after the end of the reporting period. The CAM will provide the format for the progress reports.

Deliverables:

Monthly Progress Reports

Task 1.5 Final Report

Expected General Classifications: Project Manager, Director

The goal of this task is to prepare a comprehensive written final report that describes the original purpose, approach, results, and conclusions of the work completed under this Agreement. The final report shall be prepared in language easily understood by the public or layperson with a limited technical background.

The final report must be completed before the termination date of the Agreement in accordance with the schedule of deliverables.

The final report shall be a public document. If the Contractor has obtained confidential status from the CEC and will be preparing both a public and a confidential version of the final report, the Contractor shall perform the following subtasks for both the public and confidential versions of the final report.

Deliverables:

• Draft Reports

• Final Reports

Task 2: Climate Data Processing and Model Input Development

The purpose of this task is to provide support and continue ongoing work to expand and enrich the consideration of climate change within the CEC’s long-term energy demand forecast. The contractor shall review and consider current CEC demand forecast products, methods, inputs, constraints, and data formats. The contractor shall review and consider publicly available climate-related datasets and analytic tools, including but not limited to resources available on the Cal-adapt platform. The contractor will work with CEC staff to translate climate model outputs into correlated datasets usable as demand forecast and supply model inputs. The contractor shall build off the currently used methods and perform novel analyses of climate data which address challenges in forecasting future weather such as accounting for increased occurrences of heat waves, snowpack and water availability, wildfires, and other climate impacts on energy demand in California. Work includes, but is not limited to:

• Preparing correlated, climate-impacted projections of key weather-related energy supply and demand model inputs, including but not limited to heating- and cooling-degree-days, temperature, windspeed, cloud cover, solar irradiance, and water availability

• Analyzing and comparing large data sets of weather-related variables including historical weather-station data, climate model outputs, and CEC demand model inputs

• Identifying, diagnosing, and resolving issues of bias within climate-impacted CEC demand model inputs

• Recommending and documenting refinements to existing strategies for incorporating climate projections into the CEC’s annual and hourly electricity demand modeling and into the CEC’s daily gas demand modeling

Deliverables:

• Climate-impacted supply and demand model inputs

• Technical memos summarizing analyses, discoveries and methods

• Code used to conduct the climate data analyses

Task 3: Modeling Approaches Review, Stochastic Dataset Development, and Technical Support

The purpose of this task is to review current forecast modeling methods and to find novel approaches to incorporating climate model projections into CEC forecast models that currently do not use climate data. CEC staff seek to produce distributions of correlated, climate-impacted hourly profiles for weather-sensitive components of the demand forecast (stochastic datasets) such as PV generation and Additional Achievable Fuel Substitution (AAFS) models. Additionally, CEC staff seek to produce distributions of correlated, climate-impacted hourly profiles for wind generation. Under the direction of the CAM, the contractor shall focus efforts on specific segments of the forecast. The contractor shall also review and consider factors including, but not limited to, dependent use cases and stakeholder guidance in order to identify modeling improvement opportunities that promote alignment across inter-agency modeling efforts and with industry best practices. The contractor shall review current CEC methods, identify strategies for developing climate-impacted stochastic data sets, and develop corresponding climate-impacted forecast model inputs consistent with work done under Task 2. Activities include:

• Reviewing structural and methodological aspects of CEC models

• Identifying and documenting strategies for incorporating climate projections into CEC forecast models

• Producing model inputs and supporting documentation

Deliverables:

• Climate-impacted supply and demand model inputs

• Accompanying code and technical documentation

• Technical memos on model reviews and findings

Task 4: Workshops, Stakeholder Engagement, and Communication Support

The purpose of this task is to provide support at internal and external meetings and workshops. Such meetings may include but are not limited to: management and Commissioner briefings, Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) workshops, Demand Analysis Working Group (DAWG) meetings, and informal discussions with stakeholders. Under the direction of the CAM, the contractor shall develop slide decks, briefing memos, reports, and responses to stakeholder inquiries that communicate the work performed under this contract. The contractor shall also present at workshops, technical meetings, and participate in working groups as directed by the CAM. All materials will be reviewed by the CAM before being posted online or shared with stakeholders. The contractor shall support outreach, stakeholder engagement, and communication activities, including:

• Preparing workshop slides, technical briefings, and presentation materials

• Presenting at 2 IEPR workshops and 2 technical meetings as directed (e.g. DAWG)

• Participating in climate-related working groups (e.g. CDAWG)

• Drafting reports, technical memos, and responses to stakeholder inquiries

Deliverables:

• Workshop slide decks

• Written technical materials and meeting summaries

• Draft and final report sections as assigned

Task 5: Miscellaneous Technical Support (10% Contingency)

The purpose of this task is to provide support on an ad-hoc basis for additional climate data tasks as directed by the CAM. The contractor shall provide additional analytical support, modeling assistance, climate data interpretation, or related tasks as directed by the CAM. These tasks may include urgent or ad-hoc technical analyses.

Deliverables:

• Technical memos or datasets as assigned by the CAM

• Corresponding analytical code as assigned by the CAM (if applicable)

Deliverables Due Dates

Tasks	Deliverables	Due Date
Task 1.1	Kick Off meeting • Updated schedule of deliverables	August 14, 2026
Task 1.2	Invoices	Within 15 calendar days after the end of the reporting period
Task 1.3	Manage and coordinate subcontract activities (if any)	Ongoing
Task 1.4	Monthly progress reports	Within 15 calendar days after the end of the reporting period
Task 1.5	Draft report Final report	February 28, 2028 March 31, 2028
Task 2	Hourly climate data package	November 30, 2026
Task 3	Producing stochastic datasets Producing accompanying technical documentation Technical memos on model review and findings	April 1, 2027
Task 4	Workshop slide decks Written technical materials Meeting summaries Draft and final report sections as assigned	2 weeks before workshop date 1 week after workshop
Task 5	Technical memos or datasets as assigned by the CAM	TBD

III. Proposal Format, Required Documents, and Delivery

About This Section

This section contains the format requirements and instructions on how to submit a proposal. The format is prescribed to assist the Bidder in meeting State bidding requirements and to enable the Commission to evaluate each proposal uniformly and fairly. Bidders must follow all Proposal format instructions, answer all questions, and supply all requested data.

Required Format for a Proposal

All proposals submitted under this RFP must be typed using a standard 11-point font, single-spaced and a blank line between paragraphs. Pages must be numbered and sections titled.

Method for Delivery

The method of delivery for this solicitation is the Energy Commission Grant Solicitation System, available at: https://gss.energy.ca.gov/ . This online tool allows applicants to submit their electronic documents to the CEC prior to the date and time specified in this solicitation. Electronic files must be in Microsoft Word and Excel Office Suite formats unless originally provided in the solicitation in another format. Attachments requiring signatures may be scanned and submitted in PDF format. Completed Budget Forms, Attachment 7, must be in Excel format.

The deadline to submit applications through the CEC’s GSS is 11:59 p.m. The GSS system automatically closes at 11:59 p.m. If the full submittal process has not been completed before 11:59 p.m., your application will not be considered. NO EXCEPTIONS will be entertained.

The CEC strongly encourages Applicants to upload and submit all applications by 5:00 p.m. because CEC staff will not be available after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends to assist with the upload process. And please note that while we endeavor to assist all would-be Applicants, we can’t guarantee staff will be available for in-person consultation on the due date, so please plan accordingly.

Please give yourself ample time to complete all steps of the submission process: do not wait until right before the deadline to begin the process. Due to factors outside the CEC’s control and unrelated to the GSS system, upload times may be much longer than expected. For example, some past Applicants experienced unexpected issues on their end, causing long delays that prevented timely submission. They spent significant time and resources on applications the CEC will not consider. Please plan accordingly. For instructions on how to apply using the GSS system, please see the How to Apply document available on the CEC website at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/media/1654 .

First time users must register as a new user to access the system. Applicants will receive a confirmation email after all required documents have been successfully uploaded. A tutorial of the system is available on the Energy Commission website under General Funding Resources. You may contact the Commission Agreement Officer identified in the Contact Information section of this solicitation for more assistance.

Hard copies or submissions via email or fax will not be accepted for this solicitation.

Organize Your Proposal As Follows

SECTION 1, Administrative Response

Cover Letter

Table of Contents

Contractor Status Form Attachment 1

Darfur Contracting Act Form Attachment 2

Small Business Certification If applicable

DVBE Declarations Form (Std. 843) Attachment 3

Bidder Declaration Form (GSPD-05-105) Attachment 4

Contractor Certification Clauses Attachment 5

TACPA Forms If applicable

Iran Contracting Act Form Attachment 9

CA Civil Rights Laws Certification Attachment 10

SECTION 2, Technical and Cost Proposal

Approach to Tasks in Scope of Work

Organizational Structure

Relevant Experience and Qualifications

Labor Hours by Personnel and Task

Client References Attachment 6

Previous Work Products (Optional)

Budget Forms Attachment 7. See also G below.

Contract Manager may modify sections A-F:

A. Approach to tasks in Scope of Work

Describe the Bidder’s approach to providing services listed in the Scope of Work, highlighting any outstanding features, qualifications and experience.

B. Organizational Structure

1. Describe the organizational structure of the Bidder, including providing an organizational chart of the entire contract team.

2. Provide a short description of each firm and key members on the team. Describe the relationship between the Contractor and Subcontractors on your team.

3. Identify the location of the Bidder’s and Subcontractor’s headquarters and satellite office(s) and proposed methods of minimizing costs to the State.

4. Describe Bidder’s professional awards.

5. Describe the organization, composition, and functions to be performed by staff members of the Bidder and any Subcontractors and how the staff pertains to this contract.

C. Relevant Experience and Qualifications

1. Document the project team’s qualifications as they apply to performing the tasks described in the Scope of Work. Describe recently completed work as it relates to this Scope of Work.

2. Identify and list all Bidder staff and Subcontractors (all team members) who will be committed to the tasks and describe their roles.

3. Provide a current resume for all team members listed, including job classification and description, relevant experience, education, academic degrees and professional licenses.

4. Identify the percentage of time each team member will be available throughout the contract.

D. Labor Hours by Personnel and Task

Provide the title or classification of each person and their level of effort (hours) for each task, including subcontractor hours.

E. Client References

Each bidder shall complete Client Reference Forms. Three client references are required for the Contractor and three for each subcontractor (optional for subcontractor).

F. Previous Work Products

Each bidder shall provide at least one example of a similar work product for the services to be provided. If subcontractors will be providing technical support in a task area, each subcontractor shall also submit one example work product that demonstrates experience in potential work assignments described in this RFP.

It is not necessary to provide more than one copy of each work product example. Web links are acceptable.

G. Budget Forms

Category Budget Attachment 7

Direct Labor Attachment 7

Fringe Benefits Attachment 7

Travel Attachment 7

Equipment Attachment 7

Materials & Miscellaneous Attachment 7

Subcontracts Attachment 7

Indirect Costs and Profit Attachment 7

The Bidder must submit information on all of the attached budget forms and this will be deemed the equivalent of a formal Cost Proposal.

Detailed instructions for completing these forms are included at the beginning of Attachment 7.

Rates and personnel shown must reflect rates and personnel you would charge if you were chosen as the Contractor for this RFP. Bidder must include all people anticipated who will provide service on the Agreement. The Energy Commission may consider adding a person that the Bidder did not include in its Proposal. However, because the additional person might affect the Bidder's score or take additional time that the Energy Commission does not have or does not want to spend, the Energy Commission reserves the right to do any of the following, along with any other existing rights:

• Assess how the new person might affect the Bidder’s score, including possibly rescoring the Proposal

• Refuse to add the new person

• Add the new person.

Bidders are cautioned that they should include all team members in their Proposal.  The Energy Commission does not want to be in the position of assessing additional persons after the Notice of Proposed Award.

The salaries, rates, and other costs entered on these forms become a part of the final agreement. The entire term of the agreement and projected rate increases must be considered when preparing the budget. The rates bid are considered capped and shall not change during the term of the contract. The Contractor shall only be reimbursed for their actual rates up to these rate caps. The labor rates shall be unloaded (before fringe benefits, overheads, general & administrative (G&A) or profit).

All budget forms are required because they will be used for the contract prepared with the winning Bidder.

NOTE: The information provided in these forms will not be kept confidential.

IV. Evaluation Process and Criteria

About This Section

This section explains how the proposals will be evaluated. It describes the evaluation stages, preference points, and scoring of all proposals.

Proposal Evaluation

A Bidder’s proposal will be evaluated and scored based on their response to the information requested in this RFP. The entire evaluation process from receipt of proposals to posting of the Notice of Proposed Award is confidential.

To evaluate all Proposals, the Energy Commission will organize an Evaluation Committee. The Evaluation Committee may consist of Energy Commission staff or staff of other California state entities.

The Proposals will be evaluated in two stages:

Stage One: Administrative and Completeness Screening

The Contracts Office will review Proposals for compliance with administrative requirements and completeness. Proposals that fail Stage One shall be disqualified and eliminated from further evaluation.

Stage Two: Technical and Cost Evaluation of Proposals

Proposals passing Stage One will be submitted to the Evaluation Committee to review and score based on the Evaluation Criteria in this solicitation.

During the evaluation and selection process, the Evaluation Committee may schedule a clarification interview with a Bidder that will either be held by telephone or in person at the Energy Commission for the purpose of clarification and verification of information provided in the proposal. However, these interviews may not be used to change or add to the contents of the original Proposal.

The total score for each Proposal will be the average of the combined scores of all Evaluation Committee members.

After scoring is completed, Proposals not attaining a score of 70 percent of the total possible points will be eliminated from further competition.

All applicable Preferences will be applied to all Proposals attaining a minimum of 70 percent of the total possible points. The agreement shall be awarded to the responsible Bidder meeting the requirements outlined above, who achieves the highest score after application of Preferences.

Scoring Scale

Using this Scoring Scale, the Evaluation Committee will give a score for each criterion described in the Evaluation Criteria Worksheet.

% of Possible Points	Interpretation	Explanation for Percentage Points
0%	Not Responsive	Response does not include or fails to address the requirements being scored. The omission(s), flaw(s), or defect(s) are significant and unacceptable.
10-30%	Minimally Responsive	Response minimally addresses the requirements being scored. The omission(s), flaw(s), or defect(s) are significant and unacceptable.
40-60%	Inadequate	Response addresses the requirements being scored, but there are one or more omissions, flaws, or defects or the requirements are addressed in such a limited way that it results in a low degree of confidence in the proposed solution.
70%	Adequate	Response adequately addresses the requirements being scored. Any omission(s), flaw(s), or defect(s) are inconsequential and acceptable.
80%	Good	Response fully addresses the requirements being scored with a good degree of confidence in the Bidder’s response or proposed solution. No identified omission(s), flaw(s), or defect(s). Any identified weaknesses are minimal, inconsequential, and acceptable.
90%	Excellent	Response fully addresses the requirements being scored with a high degree of confidence in the Bidder’s response or proposed solution. Bidder offers one or more enhancing features, methods or approaches exceeding basic expectations.
100%	Exceptional	All requirements are addressed with the highest degree of confidence in the Bidder’s response or proposed solution. The response exceeds the requirements in providing multiple enhancing features, a creative approach, or an exceptional solution.

Notice of Proposed Award

The Commission will post a Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA) on the Commission’s Web Site and will email the NOPA to all parties that submitted a proposal.

Scoring Criteria Maximum Points

Technical Approach 25

The proposal provides the following in response to each of the criteria listed below:

a. Describes the technique, approach, and methods to be used in providing the services task by task, listed in the Scope of Work, highlighting any outstanding features, qualifications and experience.

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