Full Text
Page 1 of 5 Community Renewable Energy Agency In care of Millcreek (“City”) 3330 South 1300 East Millcreek, UT 84106 Request for Proposals/Qualifications Communications Firm or Consultant Due Date: December 9, 2022 at 5:00 pm local time Introduction: Utah 100 Communities, also known as the Community Renewable Energy Agency (Agency), is an interlocal public entity comprised of 18 communities that aspire to obtain net-100% of their electricity from renewable sources by the year 2030. The Agency is working with Rocky Mountain Power and the State of Utah to develop the Community Renewable Energy Program (Program), through which participating communities will fulfill this goal. The Agency is seeking the services of a communications and public relations firm or consultant to assist the Agency as key milestones in Program development approach. These milestones, which are subject to change, include: • Program Application Submittal (anticipated between December 2022 and March 2023 o Rocky Mountain Power submits on behalf of the Agency the legally required program application to the Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) for its review • PSC Program decision approval, approval with modification, or rejection (anticipated between March and June of 2023) • City, Town, or County Ordinance Adoption (anticipated between June and September of 2023) o Within three months of the PSC’s approval of the program application, the legislative body of each community participating in the Agency considers whether to adopt an ordinance finalizing the community’s participation in the Program • Program Launch (anticipated between November 2022 and January 2023) o Having secured a contract for the first community renewable energy resource, the Agency and Rocky Mountain Power mark the Program launch, initiating two mailed notices to all electric customers in participating communities, followed by three billing cycles during which automatically enrolled customers may opt out of the Program Detailed Description of Services: ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 2 of 5 The Communications Committee of the Agency’s Board will be responsible for working with the selected firm or consultant to fulfill the following tasks. a) Attend two remote meetings of the Communities Communications Committee b) Make presentations the Agency Board as requested [remote or in person] c) Tasks leading up to and including the Program application submittal milestone: i) Prepare and/or review materials to be included in the Program application, including: Draft of a letter to Rocky Mountain Power customers notifying them of their ability to opt-out of the Program Draft of a letter to income-limited or low-income Rocky Mountain Power customers notifying them of their ability to opt-in to the program (as requested) Design a draft poster (Assistance Poster) that participating communities can customize for local distribution to organizations as part of low-income outreach plans Design a general-purpose brochure (General Brochure) that participating communities can customize for local distribution, reflecting expected Program details and to be updated after PSC approval ii) Prepare and issue a state-wide press release on behalf of the Agency regarding program application submittal iii) Refresh the Utah 100 Communities branding and logo iv) Refresh the Agency website (Agency Website), www.utah100communities.org to reflect expected Program details, including: A user-friendly explanation of what the Program is and the benefits and costs of participating Suggest changes to website content and the way content is organized within the Agency’s current Wix website Update the website’s Frequently Asked Questions page, d) Tasks leading up to and including the PSC Program decision milestone i) Draft and issue press release announcing PSC decision ii) Draft content for Utah 100 Communities email newsletter announcing PSC decision and next steps ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 3 of 5 iii) Develop Utah 100 Communities social media strategy and content calendar e) Tasks leading up to and including ordinance adoption i) Develop a website page and educational video targeted to lower- income households who want to learn more about the Program and available assistance ii) Finalize Assistance Poster to reflect PSC-approved Program details for distribution to participating communities iii) Finalize General Brochure to reflect PSC-approved Program details for distribution to participating communities iv) Update Agency Website to reflect PSC-approved Program details v) Develop draft press release for participating communities to customize with their own quotes for local media distribution, announcing opportunity to adopt ordinance to join Program vi) Continue drafting content for Utah 100 Communities email newsletter vii) Draft social media content according to the social media strategy and content calendar viii) Design additional posters, flyers, and/or digital graphics and messaging for customization and use by participating communities as needed f) Tasks related to program launch milestone i) Provide and monitor a “help line” and email address during the program launch period that customers can contact to ask questions about the program (as requested) ii) Develop draft press release for participating communities to customize with their own quotes for local media distribution announcing Program launch and initial renewable energy resource iii) Continue drafting content for Utah 100 Communities email newsletter iv) Continue drafting social media content according to the social media strategy and content calendar Schedule: The Agency hopes to engage a consultant or firm no later than January 2023 and through the milestones listed above. Proposal Requirements. Two written copies and an electronic copy in PDF (Portable Document Format) of the Proposal are required to be submitted to John Brems as listed below, no later than 5:00 p.m. local time on December 9, 2022. Any response, modification, or amendment received after the due date and time is considered late. No late response, modification, or amendment will be accepted. No electronic Responses except ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 4 of 5 the PDF described above will be accepted. Proposals must include the following elements and be signed by an authorized representative of the Proposer: a) Introductory letter. An introductory letter expressing an interest in providing the Services should be included. The introductory letter should include an e- mail address and direct phone number for the primary contact of the Consultant, and should be addressed to: John Brems Millcreek City Hall 3330 South 1300 East Millcreek, UT 84106 b) Qualifications. In no more than three pages, describe, in detail, the Proposer’s experience in providing the services described above. The Agency may give preference to proposers who demonstrate experience developing and administering campaigns related to sustainability, renewable energy, similar environmental topics including air and water quality, politics and government affairs within the State of Utah, and/or proceeds of the Utah Public Service Commission. c) Cost. Provide a detailed fee/rate schedule to complete the Project that includes any and all costs the Proposer may incur, including any costs for transportation, lodging, communication, printing, etc. d) References. Include the name, address, and contact person of at least three clients, especially clients for whom proposers have completed communications tasks related to similar topics. The Communications Committee or other representatives may contact such references. Identification of Anticipated Potential Problems. Proposals should identify and describe any potential problems with respect to providing the Services. Evaluation Criteria and Scoring Process. All Proposals received will be reviewed, scored, and tallied by the Communications Committee as they shall determine. Each evaluation criterion has been given a percentage based on its relative value. The criteria and each associated percentage are as follows: ▪ Qualifications (60%) ▪ Cost (40%) ▪ References (this is a mandatory minimum requirement and as stated above the Communications Committee or other representatives may contact such references and do its own investigation and the result of the investigation at any time during the solicitation process may result in a disqualification based on the Agency’s sole and absolute discretion) ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 5 of 5 Selection. Discussions may be conducted with Proposers determined by the Program Design Committee to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for the award. In addition, one or more Proposers may be invited to interview, provided; however, Proposals may be accepted without discussion or interview. The Communications Committee will make its recommendation to the Agency and the Agency will make the award. General Information. City for and on behalf of the Agency reserves the right to reject any and all Responses. The City for and on behalf of the Agency reserves the right to amend, modify or waive any requirement set forth in this Request. Response to this Request is at the Proposer’s sole risk and expense. All Proposers must comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Except for written responses provided by the contact person described below, the Agency has not authorized anyone to make any representations regarding the subject matter of this Request. All requests for clarification or additional information regarding this Request must be submitted in writing to the contact person described below no later than December 2, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. The contact person will endeavor to respond to such request for clarification or additional information and if the contact person deems, in his/her sole and absolute discretion, that such response is of general applicability, his/her response, if any, will be posted on the City’s website for and on behalf of the Agency at Millcreek.us (which constitutes a written response). Entities responding to this Request are encouraged to review such website frequently. The Agency intends to select one or more of the responding Proposers, but there is no guarantee that any responding Proposer will be selected. Responses will be placed in the public domain and become public records subject to examination and review by any interested parties in accordance with the Government Record Access Management Act (Utah Code Ann. § 63G-2-101, et seq.). All materials submitted in response to this Request will become the property of the Agency and will be managed by the Agency in accordance with the Government Record Access Management Act. Terms of Contract. The successful Proposer will be required to enter into a contract with the Agency to provide the Services. If the selected Proposer and the City Attorney for and on behalf of the Agency are unable to negotiate an acceptable agreement, then another Proposer(s) will be selected by the Agency Board and negotiation will continue with such other Proposer(s) until an acceptable agreement is completed. Contact Person. For more information on the Proposal, contact John Brems at [EMAIL REDACTED], 3330 South 1300 East, Millcreek, UT 84106 or for American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, contact Kurt Hansen, Director of Legislative Policy and Code, [EMAIL REDACTED], 3330 South 1300 East, Millcreek, UT 84106.