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Q&A
The Procurement Administrator will endeavor to answer all submitted questions in a timely and professional manner in accord with the goals of the RFP process. Questions will be answered by the Procurement Administrator in the order they are received, except in those cases where a specific question requires additional consideration, thereby extending the response period.
Submit a Question
When will additional information about the Supplier Fee applicable to each procurement be available?
The Procurement Administrator is currently working with the Illinois Power Agency to finalize the Supplier Fee amount for each 2011 procurement. This information will be posted as soon as it is available.
(Posted 4/21/11)
Can a bidder post cash instead of a letter of credit as Pre-Bid Security?
No, only a letter of credit in the form of Attachment B to the RFP (with acceptable changes) can be posted as Pre-Bid Security. This requirement is consistent with the Illinois Power Agency's prior procurements of capacity, energy and renewable energy credits for Ameren Illinois. The Procurement Administrator does not consider the letter of credit requirement to be unduly burdensome for bidders. Therefore cash or other collateral cannot be provided as a substitute for the pre-bid letter of credit.
(Posted 4/20/11)
How can bidders get a copy of a Form W-9 for the Illinois Power Agency?
Please email aiurfp@levitan.com with this request.
(Posted 4/20/11)
Does submitting a Pre-Qualification Application for multiple products mean that a bidder must pay multiple Bid Participation Fees?
No. The $500 Bid Participation Fee covers participation in all Ameren and ComEd 2011 procurements, and must only paid to the Illinois Power Agency once per bidder.
(Posted 4/19/11)
When filling out the Pre-Qualification Application, does checking the Applicable Products boxes bind the bidder to participate in those procurements?
No. The option to submit a single Pre-Qualification Application for multiple products is intended as a bidder convenience, bidders are not required to submit bids in any procurement as a result of completing and submitting the Pre-Qualification Application.
(Posted 4/19/11)
In past years, suppliers have executed three contracts for each product, with the three Ameren Illinois Utilities. Will this still be the case this year?
No. For the 2011 procurement cycle, winning suppliers will only sign one contract for each product, with Ameren Illinois Company. Ameren Illinois Company came into existence on October 1, 2010 as the result of the merger of Central Illinois Light Company d/b/a AmerenCILCO and Illinois Power Company d/b/a AmerenIP into Central Illinois Public Service Company d/b/a AmerenCIPS and the subsequent name change of AmerenCIPS to Ameren Illinois Company.
(Posted 4/19/11)
Can a pre-bid letter of credit from the Energy RFP be used for the Capacity RFP as well?
No. The forms of pre-bid letter of credit are different for each procurement, therefore each procurement requires a separate pre-bid letter of credit.
(Posted 5/9/11)
What time can binding bids be submitted on Wednesday, May 11, 2011?
The bidding window will be open for submission of binding bids from 10:00 am CPT to 12:00 noon CPT on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.
(Posted 5/3/11)
Please clarify the Performance Assurance requirements as they relate to the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit.
Because delivery will be completed shortly after contract execution for this year's procurement, the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit will serve as Performance Assurance for the Capacity RFP, therefore the Expiration Date is extended to June 14, 2011, which is three business days after the final Receipt Deadline (June 9, 2011), which is ten business days after the final Delivery deadline (May 25, 2011). In the event that a bidder is not selected as a winning supplier, the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit can be returned following the ICC ruling on the procurement results.
(Posted 4/21/11)
Which Capacity RFP is indicated by checking the Capacity box in the Applicable Products of the Pre-Qualification Application?
The Pre-Qualification Application is only applicable to the Phase 2 Capacity RFP for July 2011 through May 2012. The Phase 1 Capacity RFP for June 2011 was completed on April 13, 2011.
(Posted 4/19/11)
Will any fees be charged for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Capacity RFPs?
Neither Bid Participation nor Supplier Fees will be charged for the Phase 1 (June 2011) Capacity RFP. Final details for the Phase 2 (July 2011 - May 2012) are not yet available, but it is expected that both a Bid Participation Fee and Supplier Fee will be in effect.
(Posted 4/12/11)
Please clarify the units for capacity bidding.
The units for the capacity procurements are Planning Resource Credits (PRCs). One PRC equals one MW-month. The $/PRC-month construct shown on the bid form is simply to emphasize that PRCs are monthly products.
(Posted 4/11/11)
Will there be a seperate bidder pre-qualification and registration form for the phase two July '11 - May '12 capacity auction? Or do you need to fill out the bidder pre-qualification and registration form for phase one to qualify for both phases of the capacity auction?
Bidder Pre-Qualification and Registration for Phase 2 of the Capacity RFP (July 2011 to May 2012) will be handled separately from the June 2011 RFP process. Forms for the Phase 2 process will be issued with the Phase 2 Capacity RFP. Bidders only need to complete the June 2011 Bidder Pre-Qualification and Registration Form if they plan to participate in June 2011 bidding on 4/13/11.
(Posted 4/8/11)
In follow-up to question #E10, please confirm that a bidder awarded unsecured credit through a guarantor can elect to post cash instead of executing a guaranty. In this scenario, the unsecured credit threshold would be $0 until a guaranty is exected.
This is correct, cash can be posted in place of a guaranty until the guaranty is executed.
(Posted 5/4/11)
Will bid forms with formulas be accepted?
We recommend that bidders submit bids as values rather than formulas in order to ensure that the values evaluated are those intended, but bid forms with formulas will not be rejected.
(Posted 5/4/11)
What time can binding bids be submitted on Thursday, May 5, 2011?
The bidding window will be open for submission of binding bids from 10:00 am CPT to 12:00 noon CPT on Thursday, May 5, 2011.
(Posted 5/3/11)
If a winning bidder is providing a guaranty, when must it be submitted to Ameren Illinois?
If a winning bidder is awarded unsecured credit through a guarantor, the guaranty is due at contract execution, which must be completed within three business days of the ICC ruling on the procurement results. The ICC is scheduled to rule on the Procurement Administrator's recommendation on Monday, May 9th, therefore contract execution will take place by Thursday, May 12th.
(Posted 4/27/11)
Please confirm where the Pre-Bid ILOC should be sent and the Beneficiary's address.
As stated in paragraph 15 of the Form of Pre-Bid ILOC, the original Letter of Credit should be sent to Managing Supervisor, Credit Risk Management, Ameren Services, 1901 Choteau Avenue, MC 960, St. Louis, MO 63103. An email (aiurfp@levitan.com) or fax (617-531-2826) copy should also be sent to the Procurement Administrator. Additional instructions for submitting the Pre-Bid ILOC can be found in the Bidder Registration Form.
(Posted 4/27/11)
By what time on Friday, May 6th will the Procurement Administrator contact bidders with preliminary notifications of the recommendation to the ICC?
The Procurement Administrator will delivery preliminary notifications of the recommendation to the ICC as early in the day as possible on Friday, May 6th, but no later than 5pm CPT.
(Posted 4/26/11)
The Confirmation Agreement states that the delivery point is AMIL.BGS6, which is different from the 2010 contract. Please confirm that AMIL.BGS6 is the correct delivery point.
AMIL.BGS6 is the correct delivery point under the 2011 Confirmation Agreement.
(Posted 4/21/11)
Please confirm that "performance" as referenced in the second paragraph of the Form of Guaranty (Exhibit A to the Confirmation Agreement) means "performance of all payment obligation," and that the guarantor will not be liable for performance such as delivery of power, etc.
"Guarantor, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, hereby unconditionally, irrevocably and absolutely guarantees to the Guaranteed Party the full and prompt payment and performance when due, subject to any applicable grace period, of all payment obligations of the Counterparty to the Guaranteed Party arising out of the Agreement."
This interpretation is correct.
(Posted 4/21/11)
Is the Energy RFP for Day Ahead energy or Real Time energy?
The Energy RFP is for Day Ahead energy. (See Confirmation Agreement, Section 5, Item A16)
(Posted 4/20/11)
Is it possible to still participate in the Energy RFP if a bidder cannot get the Bid Participation Fee in by the April 22nd deadline?
Please contact the Procurement Administrator at aiurfp@levitan.com if you are having difficulty with timely submission of the Bid Participation Fee.
(Posted 4/20/11)
What is the reason for the change from a financial to a physical product?
The rationale for the change from a financial to a physical product is discussed on pages 27-28 of the IPA's Procurement Plan and pages 97-98 of the ICC's Final Order.
(Posted 4/18/11)
What is the process for contract execution following selection?
The contract execution process will have the following steps:
(Posted 4/18/11)
Will a copy of the Draft Confirmation Agreement redlined against the final 2010 final Energy RFP contract be available?
Because of the change from a financial to a physical product, the structure of the contract document has changed significantly, therefore we do not plan to post a redline against the 2010 contract. The 2010 documents can be downloaded here.
(Posted 4/18/11)
The Illinois law states that after June 1, 2011, cost-effective renewable energy resources located in Illinois and in states that adjoin Illinois may be counted towards compliance with the standards set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c). Will adjacent states RECs generated after January 1, 2011 but before June 1, 2011 qualify for the "Illinois and Adjacent States" classes for purposes of this procurement?
The Renewable Energy Credit Agreement provides for delivery of RECs with a vintage from January 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012. Hence, should a bidder win Illinois and Adjoining State RECs in this year's RFP, that bidder can satisfy delivery obligations by providing RECs of the type won from Illinois and/or an Adjoining States as long as they have a vintage between January 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012. Hence for this year’s RFP, there is nothing that limits the use of a REC produced in an Adjoining State as an Illinois and Adjoining State REC if those RECs are created in an Adjoining State on or before June 1, 2011.
(Posted 5/12/11)
Would it be possible to use the Michigan RECs tracking system (MIRECS) for tracking and retirement under the REC Agreement?
Yes, the MIRECS tracking system will be accepted for this procurement.
(Posted 5/6/11)
As in years past, will Ameren accept retirement of Texas generated RECs even if they are not registered with GATS, M-RETS or NARR? Texas' REC registry is maintained by ERCOT and can be found at www.texasrenewables.com.
Ameren Illinois has accepted the ERCOT REC tracking system in the 2009 and 2010 REC procurements, and would be able to accept it for this procurement also.
(Posted 5/6/11)
Can a bidder post cash instead of a letter of credit as pre-bid security?
Please see Q&A #G5 above.
(Posted 5/2/11)
Which fields in the Pre-Qualification Application can be skipped if a bidder has already submited the Part 1 Form for the ComEd Renewables procurement and indicated that information should be shared with the Ameren Procurement Administrator?
The Pre-Qualification Application has been updated to add ** before the fields that can be left blank if information will be transmitted from the ComEd Procurement Administrator. These fields include those on the first page of Form 3A (contact information) and Form 4 (with the exception of the recipient of Invoice copies and ACH Transfer information).
(Posted 4/28/11)
Will a redline of the REC Agreement against the 2010 REC Agreement be available?
Yes, when we post the REC Agreement we will include a redline showing the changes from 2010.
(Posted 4/21/11)
Can the utility purchase renewable power to also help satisfy the 6% requirement or is the entire 6% satisfied through RECs as stated on the site?
The IPA's procurement plan for the 2011-12 delivery year calls for the entire 6% requirement to be satisfied through RECs.
(Posted 4/8/11)
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