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Frequently Asked Questions - Other
General, Block, Load Following Full Requirements, AEC
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| General |
| 1. |
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Is there a phone number where one can call in to participate in the bidder information session on September 16? |
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A Bidder Information Web cast will be held on Wednesday (December 2, 2009) between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. EPT and is open to all prospective bidders. Please e-mail to pplpolr@pplweb.com the total number of phone connections needed. Call-in information will be provided on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Presentation materials will be posted to the RFP Web site after the bidder information session. All questions and answers will be posted to the RFP Web site as FAQs. |
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| 2. |
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When will information pertaining to the RFP Process and Rules as well as supplier documents be posted to the RFP website? |
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For RFP documents: Full Requirements and Block Energy RFPs: Click Here AEC RFP: Click Here
For the RFP schedule: Full Requirements and Block Energy RFPs: Click Here AEC RFP: Click Here |
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| 3. |
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What is the baseline for consumption and demand reductions to meet Act 129? |
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This information can be found in PPL’s filing in the proceeding. For more information, please refer to documents on the following web site: www.pplact129.com. |
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| 4. |
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Does the unit entitlement product incorporate plant outages/availability? How does this work? |
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The unit entitlement product is being developed. The supply from the unit entitlement product is expected to begin on June 1, 2011. |
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| 5. |
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When will the Bid Proposal Spreadsheets for each RFP be made available? |
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The Bid Proposal Spreadsheets will be made available by the Qualified Bidders Notified Date. |
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| 6. |
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By signing the binding bid agreement required with bidder qualifications, are we obligated to provide a Bid Assurance Letter of Credit? |
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No, signing the binding bid agreement does not obligate you to provide a Bid Assurance Letter of Credit. However, should you fail to provide Bid Assurance Collateral (in the form of cash or a Bid Assurance Letter of Credit), any bid proposals submitted by you on the Bid Proposal Due Date will not be evaluated. |
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| 7. |
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May we amend the Confidentiality Agreement appended to the RFP Rules? |
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No. There are no provisions under the RFP Rules to propose modifications to the Confidentiality Agreement appended to the RFP Rules. The Confidentiality Agreement is a standardized document that must be signed by all RFP Bidders. |
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| 8. |
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After PaPUC certification of the results of the RFP and its notice of same, if a successful bidder desires to disclose that it won tranches in the RFP, including the number and category of tranches, can it do so? We note that the only potentially applicable provision in the Confidentiality Agreement that is an attachment to the Supply Master Agreement provides that:
“A Party shall use the other Party’s Confidential Information only for the purpose of evaluating, responding to, negotiating and consummating the RFP and/or the response to the RFP, and/or consummating the Default Service SMA and/or DSSM SMA as appropriate, and not for any other purpose. Neither Party shall disclose to Third Parties any information about PPL Electric’s or RFP Bidder’s participation in the RFP or execution of a Default Service SMA and/or DSSM SMA as appropriate, or the terms or conditions or any other facts relating thereto, including the fact that discussions are taking place with respect thereto, the status of those discussions, or the fact that Confidential Information has been made available by or to PPL Electric or RFP Bidder or their Representatives.”
We note that virtually identical language appears in the confidentiality agreement used by the West Penn Power Company in connection with its recent solicitations for default service supply, and that successful bidders disclosed such information. See, e.g., slide 14 of the Allegheny Energy Investor Presentation found at the following URL: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External..File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzQ2NTA3fENoaWxkSUQ9MzM0MzkxfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1 We observe further that PPL Electric disclosed comparable information in certain of its required SEC disclosures concerning its affiliate PPL EnergyPlus’ successful participation in PPL Electric’s first default service supply solicitations in 2010, and again, the language in the applicable confidentiality agreement is virtually identical to that set forth above in the current agreement. |
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The above referenced wording, as found within the Default Service SMA Confidentiality Agreement, is applicable. Specifically, “…Neither Party shall disclose to Third Parties any information about PPL Electric’s or RFP Bidder’s participation in the RFP or execution of a Default Service SMA and/or DSSM SMA as appropriate…” Additionally, PPL Electric recommends the supplier seeks legal advice pertaining to the obligations of the agreement. |
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| 9. |
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I was looking for some more information about the 50 MW Unit entitlement supply that PPL may procure as part of its DSPP plan. When does the 50 MW unit entitlement supply period start? I remember seeing somewhere that it started June 1, 2011, but I just wanted to confirm that. Has PPL already procured this supply, and if not, will this be procured through an RFP process? |
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The 50 MW unit entitlement supply is scheduled to begin June 1, 2011. This supply has not been procured by PPL Electric and PPL Electric is required to conduct a collaborative with the parties involved in the PUC proceeding of the DSPP to establish the details of the unit entitlement supply. PPL Electric will procure this supply through an RFP process. |
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| 10. |
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Are we permitted to announce our company's results from the recent bid? Can we publicly announce our company's results from an RFP solicitation? |
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Please note that the Confidentiality Agreement executed between PPL Electric and the RFP Bidder is applicable. Specifically, the Confidentiality Agreement states that “…Neither Party shall disclose to Third Parties any information about PPL Electric’s or RFP Bidder’s participation in the RFP or execution of [the applicable SMA] as appropriate…” Additionally, PPL Electric recommends the supplier seek legal advice pertaining to the obligations under the Confidentiality Agreement as well as to any other obligations of the RFP Bidder such as to the SEC. Please also refer to DSPP Other/General FAQ #8 for additional information. |
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| Block |
| 1. |
Q. |
In the Bidder Information Session presentation on slide 59 titled “Example of Bid Evaluation” it seems that the combination of prices selected doesn't give the lowest price. Why is Bidder A’s bid of 1 tranche at $75 and Bidder B’s bid of 2 tranches at $75.75 selected, rather than choosing Bidder A’s 1 tranche at $75, then the next lowest price submitted by Bidder B at $75.50, and then the 3rd tranche for Bidder B at $75.75? |
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Your analysis is incorrect. Please note that for the Full Requirements RFP and the Block Supply RFP, a bidder is not naming a price for each individual tranche, but naming a price for a total number of tranches supplied.
For example on slide 59, Bidder A is naming a price of $75/MWh for 1 tranche, a price of $76/MWh for 2 total tranches (as opposed to the second tranche) and a price of $76.5/MWh for three (3) total tranches (as opposed to the third tranche).
In your example, if Bidder B’s Bid for 1 total tranche at $75.50/MWh is selected, then we would need to select Bidder A’s Bid for two (2) total tranches at a price of $76/MWh in order to fill the three (3) needed tranches. The average price of this combination is $75.83/MWh as illustrated on slide 59, which is higher than the average price of $75.50/MWh for the combination where Bidder A’s Bid for 1 total tranche is selected and Bidder B’s Bid for two (2) total tranches is selected.
Please see slide 54 of the September 16 Bidder Information Session Presentation as well as section 5.1.5 of the RFP Rules for more information. |
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| Load Following Full Requirements |
| 1. |
Q. |
Paragraph 23 of the Settlement describes the block purchase for the Residential Customer Group and states that, “Capacity (RPM) and ancillary services will be separately purchased from PJM.” It further states that PPL will acquire AEPS credits associated with the blocks through a separate RFP and that recovery of the separately acquired capacity, ancillaries and AEPS credits will be reflected in default service rates. Can you elaborate on the volumes of energy, capacity and ancillaries to be procured separately and how these volumes will affect Default Service Load responsibilities for full requirements suppliers? |
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Yes. Section 1.1.4 of the Full Requirements RFP Rules state that “For the Residential Group, this reduction includes 300 MW of energy and capacity purchased under separate block supply contracts, and up to an additional 50 MW of energy and capacity associated with a long-term unit entitlement supply contract. Appropriate contract and performance data will be provided on PPL Electric’s RFP Web site.” Hence, starting with the block purchases, PPL Electric will purchase 300 MW of block energy through the Block Supply RFP and 300 MW of capacity through PJM’s RPM.
Default Service Load will be the load of default service customers at the aggregate zone bus, after PJM de-rating for marginal losses less the 300 MW of block energy supply bought through the Block Supply RFP and less hourly NYPA long term contract energy allocated to the Residential Customer Group.
PPL Electric will be a load serving entity and will report to PJM its load responsibility in each hour. For the Residential Customer Group, PPL Electric’s hourly energy load responsibility will be 300 MW plus allocated NYPA energy. PPL Electric will estimate de-ration factors so that it is responsible for this amount of the energy of the Residential Customer Group for each hour and will reconcile after the fact so that it is exactly responsible for this amount of energy each hour. The full requirements suppliers’ Specified Percentage will be applied to hourly Default Service Load less the hourly PPL Electric energy responsibility to determine the suppliers’ energy responsibilities each hour.
As indicated in the Full Requirements RFP Rules, PPL Electric will buy 300 MW of RPM capacity. PPL Electric will be responsible each day for providing 300 MW of RPM capacity (plus allocated NYPA capacity) for the load of default service customers in the Residential Customer Group. The total RPM responsibility of all full requirements suppliers will be the RPM capacity required to serve the load of default service customers in the Residential Customer Group less the 300 MW and the NYPA capacity supplied by PPL Electric for that Group. An individual full requirements supplier’s responsibility for capacity will be its Specified Percentage times the total RPM responsibility of all full requirements suppliers of the Residential Customer Group.
PJM will calculate the ancillary service requirements for PPL Electric based on the hourly energy loads for which PPL Electric is responsible and PPL Electric’s scheduling. Similarly, each full requirements supplier’s ancillary service responsibility will be a function of that supplier’s hourly load and its scheduling.
In more general but rough terms, PPL Electric will be a load serving entity for the Residential Customer Group that, each hour, has a load of 300 MW plus the NYPA Residential allocation for energy and ancillary service responsibility determination, and that supplies 300 MW plus the NYPA Residential capacity allocation of RPM capacity. Full requirements suppliers will be responsible for the residual energy and capacity needs of the Residential Customer Group. PJM will determine ancillary service responsibilities for PPL Electric and each supplier based on their individual loads and schedules. The difference between PPL Electric’s share of Default Service Load served using the blocks and a full requirements supplier’s share of Default Service Load is that PPL Electric’s energy and capacity responsibilities are determined as fixed MW values while a full requirements supplier’s responsibilities are determined as a percent of Default Service Load less the fixed MW PPL Electric responsibility.
The supply from the unit entitlement product is expected to begin on June 1, 2011. As such, this product is not expected to affect the load associated with the delivery period of bid products of this first solicitation, which is from January 1 to May 31, 2011. While details of the 50 MW unit entitlement purchase have not been developed, PPL Electric believes that a similar structure will apply. |
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| 2. |
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When is the first solicitation in which PPL Electric will solicit supply for the Spot Market Product? |
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The first solicitation for which we are soliciting supply for the Spot Market Product is the October 2010 solicitation (the sixth solicitation) of Full Requirements RFP. |
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| 3. |
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Since the full requirements load will be reduced by the 300 MW of block energy that is procured, what load will the supplier be billed upon? Will the supplier be billed on the net load by PJM? Or will the supplier be billed on the full amount of load by PJM and then receive a credit from PPL for the amount of load reduced by the block energy? |
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Full requirements suppliers will be billed on the full requirements load reduced by the 300 MW of block energy. Please refer to Other/Full Requirements FAQ-1 for more information about how the full requirements load is determined. Please note that load volumes will be de-rated in accordance with PJM marginal loss implementation procedures. Suppliers will be responsible for and be paid by PPL Electric based on the hourly loss de-rated load. |
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| 4. |
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In the Bidder Information Session presentation on slide 59 titled “Example of Bid Evaluation” it seems that the combination of prices selected doesn't give the lowest price. Why is Bidder A’s bid of 1 tranche at $75 and Bidder B’s bid of 2 tranches at $75.75 selected, rather than choosing Bidder A’s 1 tranche at $75, then the next lowest price submitted by Bidder B at $75.50, and then the 3rd tranche for Bidder B at $75.75? |
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Your analysis is incorrect. Please note that for the Full Requirements RFP and the Block Supply RFP, a bidder is not naming a price for each individual tranche, but naming a price for a total number of tranches supplied.
For example on slide 59, Bidder A is naming a price of $75/MWh for 1 tranche, a price of $76/MWh for 2 total tranches (as opposed to the second tranche) and a price of $76.5/MWh for 3 total tranches (as opposed to the third tranche).
In your example, if Bidder B’s Bid for 1 total tranche at $75.50/MWh is selected, then we would need to select Bidder A’s Bid for 2 total tranches at a price of $76/MWh in order to fill the 3 needed tranches. The average price of this combination is $75.83/MWh as illustrated on slide 59, which is higher than the average price of $75.50/MWh for the combination where Bidder A’s Bid for 1 total tranche is selected and Bidder B’s Bid for 2 total tranches is selected.
Please see slide 54 of the September 16 Bidder Information Session Presentation as well as section 5.1.5 of the RFP Rules for more information. |
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| 5. |
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Is PPL procuring fixed price load following service for Large C&I customers for 2010, or just for 2011? |
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For 2010, PPL Electric is procuring Fixed Price Load Following Full Requirements service for the Large C&I customers who have elected to be on this service in 2010. For 2011, a fixed price option for the Large C&I customers will be considered and developed pursuant to a collaborative in the near future. |
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| AEC |
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| 1. |
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Could you please provide us with your definition of Alternative Energy Credits? |
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An Alternative Energy Credit (“AEC”) is a tradable instrument that is used to establish, verify, and monitor compliance with the AEPS Obligations under the AEC SMA, including the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (“AEPS”) at 73 P.S. §§ 1648.1-1648.8, and regulations adopted thereunder. An AEC represents all the environmental attributes corresponding to one megawatt-hour of energy generated from eligible renewable energy resources.
Through the Alternative Energy Credits (“AEC”) RFP, PPL Electric purchases AECs necessary to meet the AEPS Obligation associated with its purchases of Block Energy Supply under its Default Service Procurement Plan (“DSPP”). In the AEC RFP, AECs will be procured through multiple solicitations that mirror the purchases of Block Energy Supply under the DSPP.
AECs procured must comply with the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards for retail sales of energy during the supply period covered by the Block Energy Supply.
For information about the AEPS Act, including the information on an eligible renewable resource, please visit: http://www.puc.state.pa.us/electric/electric_alt_energy.aspx Please also refer to Rules/AEC FAQ-1 regarding the eligible vintage of AECs supplied pursuant to the AEC RFP. |
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| 2. |
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How does PPL intend to procure the solar AECs that were not approved by the PUC in the second round of solicitations due to lack of supplier participation? |
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The AECs for which bids were not approved by the PUC will be offered in the third solicitation of the AEC RFP. Specifically, 67 Tier I PV AEC for an 8-month supply period beginning January 1, 2010 will be solicited in the January 2010 solicitation of the AEC RFP. As stated in Section 1.1.13 of the RFP Rules, “If, for a given Product, the PUC rejects all Bids in any solicitation, or if some amount of the Target Quantity remains unfilled, that amount will be included in the next solicitation as specified in Article 2.3." | Return to top
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