Section 11C: Contracts for procurement of energy management services
Section 11C. (a) A state agency or building authority may, in the manner provided by this section, contract for the procurement of energy management services. Such contracts may include terms of not more than 20 years. The state agency or building authority shall solicit competitive sealed proposals through a request for proposals. At least 1 week prior to soliciting proposals for a contract under this section, the agency or authority shall notify the commissioner in writing, in such form and including such information as the commissioner shall prescribe by regulation, of the intent to solicit proposals. Such notification shall, at a minimum, include a complete copy of the request for proposals. An acknowledgment of receipt, in such form and including such information as the commissioner shall prescribe by regulation, shall be issued to the state agency or building authority upon successful compliance with the requirements of this paragraph.
Requests for proposals for an energy management services contract to be entered into on behalf of a state agency or a building authority, except a quasi-public agency, shall be developed jointly by the division of capital asset management and maintenance and the using agency. Such proposals shall only be solicited by the division of capital asset management and maintenance after the commissioner of the division has given prior written approval, and no contract for energy management services shall be valid unless approved and signed by that commissioner. A quasi-public agency may develop a request for proposal and enter into a contract for energy management services independently. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may delegate to state agencies and building authorities the authority to enter into such contracts with an estimated construction cost of less than $1 million. The delegation shall be in writing from the commissioner to the using agency or building authority.
The request for proposals published by a state agency or building authority shall include: (1) the time and date for receipt of proposals and the address of the office to which the proposals shall be delivered; (2) a description of the services to be procured, including specific requirements and all evaluation criteria that will be utilized by the state agency or building authority; and (3) proposed contract terms and conditions and an identification of such terms and conditions which shall be deemed mandatory and non-negotiable. The request for proposals may incorporate documents by reference, provided that the request for proposals specifies where prospective offerors may obtain the documents. The state agency or building authority shall make copies of the request for proposals available to all persons on an equal basis. Public notice of the request for proposals shall conform to the procedures set forth in subsection (1) of section 44J of chapter 149. Proposals shall be opened publicly, in the presence of 2 or more witnesses, at the time specified in the request for proposals, and shall be available for public inspection.
Sections 44A, 44B and 44E through 44H, inclusive, of chapter 149 shall not apply to contracts procured under this section. Section 44D of chapter 149 shall apply as appropriate to proposals submitted for contracts under this section, and every such proposal shall be accompanied by: (1) a copy of a certificate of eligibility issued by the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance; and (2) an update statement. The offeror's qualifications shall be evaluated by the division of capital asset management and maintenance in a manner designated by the commissioner of that division. If the state agency or building authority determines that any offeror is not responsible or eligible, the agency or authority shall reject the offeror, and shall give written notice of such action to the division of capital asset management and maintenance.
State agencies and building authorities shall award contracts under this section to the lowest offeror demonstrably possessing the skill, ability and integrity necessary to perform faithfully energy management services.
Payments under a contract for energy management services may be based in whole or in part on any cost savings attributable to a reduction in energy and water consumption due to the contractor's performance or revenues gained due to the contractor's services which are aimed at energy and water cost savings.
(b) A local governmental body may, in the manner provided in this subsection, contract for the procurement of energy management services. Unless no other manner of description suffices, and the local governmental body so determines in writing, setting forth the basis for the determination, all requirements shall be written in a manner which describes the requirements to be met without having the effect of exclusively requiring a proprietary supply or service, or a procurement from a sole source.
Subject to a local governmental body's authority to reject, in whole or in part, any and all proposals, as provided in this section, a local governmental body shall unconditionally accept a proposal without alteration or correction, except as provided in this paragraph. An offeror may correct, modify or withdraw a proposal by written notice received in the office designated in the request for proposals prior to the time and date set for opening the proposals. After proposal opening, an offeror may not change any provisions of the proposal in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the local governmental body or fair competition. The local governmental body shall waive minor informalities or allow the offeror to correct them. If a mistake and the intended meaning of the proposal are clearly evident on the face of the proposal document, the local governmental body shall correct the mistake to reflect the intended meaning and so notify the offeror in writing, and the offeror may not withdraw the proposal. An offeror may withdraw a proposal if a mistake is clearly evident on the face of the proposal but the intended meaning is not similarly evident.
The local governmental body shall evaluate each proposal and award each contract based solely on the criteria set forth in the request for proposals. Such criteria shall include, but not be limited to, all standards by which the local governmental body shall evaluate responsiveness, responsibility, qualifications of the offeror, technical merit and cost to the local governmental body. The request for proposals shall specify the method for comparing proposals to determine the proposal offering the lowest overall cost to the local governmental body, taking into consideration comprehensiveness of services, energy or water cost savings, costs to be paid by the local governmental body, and revenues to be paid to the local governmental body. If the local governmental body awards the contract to an offeror who did not submit the proposal offering the lowest overall cost, the governmental body shall explain the reason for the award in writing.
The evaluations shall specify revisions, if needed, to each proposal which should be obtained by negotiation before the contract shall be awarded to the offeror of the proposal. The local governmental body may condition an award on successful negotiation of the revisions specified in the evaluation and shall explain in writing the reasons for omitting any such revision from a plan incorporated by reference in the contract.
(c) The state agency, building authority or local governmental body may cancel a request for proposals or may reject in whole or in part any and all proposals when the state agency, building authority or local governmental body determines that cancellation or rejection serves the best interests of the state agency, building authority or local governmental body. The state agency, building authority or local governmental body shall state in writing the reason for a cancellation or rejection. The state agency, building authority or local governmental body shall promptly publish in the central register notice of the offeror awarded the contract. The state agency, building authority or local governmental body shall, within 30 days, file a copy of the contract with the commissioner.
[ Second paragraph of subsection (c) effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, shall adopt regulations for the procurement of energy management services under this section for local government bodies. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall adopt regulations for services to be procured for state agencies and building authorities, and shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the director of housing and community development, for the operations of housing authorities. Such regulations may limit the scope of services procured and the duration of contracts, and shall include any requirements that the commissioner or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance deems necessary to promote prudent management of such contracts at the appropriate facilities. Such regulations shall require the submission, at least annually, of such information as the commissioner or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may deem necessary to monitor the costs and benefits of contracts for energy management services.
[ Second paragraph of subsection (c) as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 141 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, shall adopt regulations for the procurement of energy management services under this section for local government bodies. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall adopt regulations for services to be procured for state agencies and building authorities, and shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the secretary of housing and livable communities, for the operations of housing authorities. Such regulations may limit the scope of services procured and the duration of contracts, and shall include any requirements that the commissioner or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance deems necessary to promote prudent management of such contracts at the appropriate facilities. Such regulations shall require the submission, at least annually, of such information as the commissioner or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may deem necessary to monitor the costs and benefits of contracts for energy management services.
(d) The commissioner shall enforce the requirements of this section and regulations adopted hereunder as they relate to local governmental bodies and shall have all the necessary powers to require compliance. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall enforce all such regulations as they relate to state agencies and building authorities, except quasi-public agencies. An order of the commissioner under this subsection shall be effective and may be enforced according to its terms, and enforcement thereof shall not be suspended or stayed by the entry of an appeal therefrom. The superior court for Suffolk county shall have jurisdiction over appeals of orders of the commissioner under this subsection, and shall also have jurisdiction upon application of the commissioner to enforce all orders of the commissioner under this subsection. The burden of proof shall be upon the appealing party to show that an order of the commissioner is invalid. An aggrieved person shall not be required to seek an order from the commissioner as a condition precedent to seeking any other remedy.
(e) The division of capital asset management and maintenance may contract for the procurement of capital improvements for adaptation projects in the manner provided in subsections (a) and (c). A local governmental body may contract for the procurement of capital improvements for adaptation projects in the manner provided in subsections (b) and (c).