HQ23-1869 - Distributed Energy Resource Management System and Virtual Power Plant Programs

Platte River seeks bid proposals from bidders for software, hardware, and services to support a virtual power plant (“VPP”). The bid proposals may be for one or both of two systems, as described further in the RFP documents. The first system is a multi-tenanted distributed energy resource management system (“DERMS”) to enable Platte River and its owner communities to manage flexible distributed energy resources (“DER”) to provide customer and system benefits. The DERMS must enable DER visibility (through monitoring and modeling DER performance), predictability (through analytics, measurement and verification) and dispatchability (through direct control or price-responsive control by the customer) for DER brought into the system through programs or interconnection processes. The virtual power plant programs (“VPP Programs”) must allow DER owners to enroll, interconnect and register their DER devices to provide services to the electric system in exchange for compensation. The DERMS and VPP Programs will, together, provide Platte River and its owner communities the ability to operate DER to support the integration of variable renewable energy by improving the accuracy of load forecasts and providing information on flexible DER performance. Bidders may bid on the DERMS, the VPP Programs, or both systems together (the VPP).

This RFP is issued by Platte River on behalf of Platte River and its four owner communities, who will participate in the bid review and selection process and will use the services and systems provided by the successful bidder or bidders. This is a joint procurement in which Platte River will select and contract with one or more successful bidders to provide services to all five utilities.
Bidders should note Platte River and the owner communities may allow other Colorado political subdivisions and agencies to use or receive services under the awarded contract (subject to terms all parties agree to), but only if allowing other entities to participate will not jeopardize current or future grant eligibility or otherwise harm Platte River.

Platte River applied for a federal Department of Energy Grant to partially fund this project. If the grant is awarded to Platte River, the selected bidder will be required to follow the federal regulations in 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart D – Federal Award Requirements.