Request for Proposal (RFP) - Consultancy Services for Smart Grid Transformation in the Power Distribution Sector, Philippines - Retender

New clarification added: General Questions1. Why is the project only targeted to 15 of the ECs and what are the considerations in the selection of these ECs?2. Is there a need for additional SteerCo meetings in addition to the NEA and TWG meetings specifed?3. What is the recommended budget for this RFP?Responses from UNOPS:1. The 15 ECs were selected in close coordination with the NEA on the basis of the opportunities present for an RE EGF and based on their need for GIS map establishment support. The EC's standing and classification were also used as basis for their seclection.2. There is currently no need for an additional Steering Committee meeting, except for one requirement when the Consultant should be available for one presentation meeting about the project, focusing on its technical aspects.3. As per our rule and to promote the fairness in competitive process, we are not allowed to disclose the budget for each procurement packages to the bidders unless otherwise deem neccesary and preclear by our Legal Unit

New clarification added: Question related to Project KPIs1. Besides the results based monitoring framework outlined in Table 5 of the RFP, are there any other indicators and targets for the project?Responses from UNOPS:The provided RBMF is ETP's M&E Framework at a strategic outcome level. Project-specific indicators for project progress monitoring will be developed accordingly with the Consultant based on the agreed approach and methodology.

New clarification added: Question related to Risks and Challenges1. Are there any specific legal, regulatory or other challenges that could impact the project and which we should be aware of?Responses from UNOPS:THE ETP-UNOPS has been coordinating with the NEA in designing the project based on the support they need for the energy transition relating to smart grids. In addition, the 15 ECs were met for an introduction of the support. The project has been designed to support national energy transition goals and targets.

New clarification added: Question related to Monthly and Final Report1. What is the expected format of the monthly and final report, and what are they expected to include?Responses from UNOPS:The format of the monthly report will be provided to the winning bidder/ selected Consultant. The Monthly Report is for project admiinstration purposes, and will include at the minimum tracking of project activities, changes, and updated RBMF.

New clarification added: Question related to Stakeholder Management1. What is the expected involvement level of NEA and the 15 ECs during the project and will UNOPS help to manage the involvement of the stakeholders?Responses from UNOPS:The NEA and the 15 EC's are ETP-UNOP's project beneficiaries. UNOPS has an assigned overall project focal point to manage project implementation.

New clarification added: Question related to Investment Forums1. What are the roles and responsibilities of the consultant, UNOPS, NEA and other stakeholders in the organization and conduct of the Investment Forums?Responses from UNOPS:The Consultant shall serve as the overall coordinator for the conduct of the Forums, and includes selecting and booking the venue, liasing with NEA and UNOPS to define the theme, inviting speakers and participants, and designing the agenda. (See nos 35 and 36 of the section II Schedule of Requirement) NEA will be a co-organizer and will support in reaching out to ECs, and UNOPS will provide guidance to the Consultants on the details during project implementation.

New clarification added: Questions related to Workshops and Capacity Building1. Can we adjust the format of the workshops for GIS map capacity building (e.g., 3 x 3-day workshops for Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon respectively)?2. Similarly, can we adjust the format of the workshops for RE EGF optimizer capacity building (e.g., 3 x 2 day workshops for Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon respectively)?3. What are the specific technical capabilities that are currently lacking within NEA and the 15 ECs with regards to smart grid technologies?4. What are the detailed technical expectations for the capacity building workshops in terms of content and outcomes?5. What is the current level of understanding of GIS mapping and RE EGF optimizers within NEA and EGF?6. Are the workshop participants expected to be end users or developers of the GIS mapping and RE EGF optimization tools?7. Please confirm that the both the GIS mapping and RE EGF optimizer capacity building workshops for NEA are to be conducted in Month 4 of the projectResponses from UNOPS:1. Yes, as long as they are aligned with the Consultant's methodology and proposed topics to cover, and especially if they are for implementation efficiency purposes2. Yes, as long as they are aligned with the Consultant's methodology and proposed topics to cover, and especially if they are for implementation efficiency purposes3. In the initial discussions, we've been informed that most of the EC's have underwent capacity building sessions on GIS mapping c/o the NEA. However, the main bottleneck is on the lack of in-house resources to kick-start this upgrade requirements.4. For the capacity building workshops, the ECs and NEA should be able to gain understanding on the use of the tools and what they produce, and later on be able to use the tools on their own for the purpose of updating their GIS maps and conducting their own simulations for future RE embedded generation projects.5. GIS mapping: most EC's have been introduced to GIS mapping and has undertaken several capacity building sessions with the NEA Engineering Department; RE EGF: very limited technical knowledge, but they have an idea of what is the potential RE they have in their area of jurisdiction.6. Yes, the workshop participants are expected to be end users or developers of the GIS mapping and RE EGF optimization tools.7. This is an indicative schedule, the Consultant may propose a different schedule where it sees appropriate to its methodology/ approach.

New clarification added: Question related to EGF Optimizer outputs1. Please provide more details on the expected RE EGF optimizer outputs. What is the expected information to be obtained from the RE EGF optimizer?Responses from UNOPS:1. The Consultant should propose the expected results of the RE optimization simulations. (See no 37 b and c of the section II Schedule of Requirement)

New clarification added: Questions related to GIS outputs1. Please share the expected granularity of the GIS mapping (e.g. 11kV or 415V network)2. Please share the number of poles, line sections, substations, switches and other equipment that need to be mapped3. Please provide more details on the expected GIS outputs. What are the end uses and expected information to be obtained from the GIS map?Responses from UNOPS:1. At the minimum, data related for 23 kV, 13.8 kV, and 13.2 kV lines shall be mapped.2. These data are part of the data collection process to be led by the Consultants. The Consultant could refer to the EC's profile online for more information (https://www.doe.gov.ph/ducsp?q=duprofile). The 15 EC's have been pre-identified.3. The development of the GIS is to fulfill the requirements of the EC's to the Smart Grid Policy Framework issued by the Department of Energy through DC 2020-02-0003. (See Section III A Rationale nos. 6 to 9 of the section II Schedule of Requirement)

New clarification added: Questions related to Software1. Is there a preferred software for GIS mapping and RE EGF optimization?2. What is the software that ECs that ECs currently use for GIS mapping, RE EGF optimization or similar tasks?Responses from UNOPS:1. An open access software is preferred at this stage.2. Some EC's have ArcGIS, while others rely on QGIS.

New clarification added: Questions related to data inputs1. 'What input data is currently available for GIS mapping and RE EGF optimization for each of the ECs today? Please share a list of the data and samples if possible.2. Will UNOPS assist in data collection and validation, if the required data is not available today?3. Do NEA and ECs maintain any GIS and/or RE EGF models and will they be shared during the project?4. Is there an expectation to model to develop the GIS map and RE EGF optimizer based on a future or hypothetical state of the distribution grid? If so, will data inputs required for this be provided?Responses from UNOPS:1. The Consultant, together with the EC beneficiaries, will conduct data collection for: sub-transmission data, distribution substation data, primary line and pole data, and Protective devices and other equipment (AVR and Capacitor data) (No 41, c of the section II Schedule of Requirement)2. This is part of the Consultant's expected scope of work, to lead in the data collection and QA/QC processes (No. 41, d of the section II Schedule of Requirement) For additional data requirements, the NEA Engineering Department shall be consulted.3. The ECs selected do not have an existing GIS map nor RE EGF models, as confirmed during the project conceptualization stage. With the time between project conceptualization and project kick-off, there may be some of the beneficiary ECs who started their GIS map, and these will be shared for proper updating, subject to their NDA requirements.4. The Consultant must suggest an appropropriate model, keeping in mind the national energy transition and clean energy targets that affect the EC's i.e. smart grid by 2040 and RPS requirements, among others

New clarification added: Questions:Hello,Can you clarify the duration required for the investment forums? According to the RFP, it is a one-day forum (each for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). However, in the financial template, it is indicated that the hotel accommodations for NEA representatives will be for 2 nights, from Day 1 up until Day 3. Which is the correct scenario? For example,~~Hotel accommodation for 7 NEA representatives in Visayas,Note: participants will check in after the day 1 morning session and will check out after the day 3, morning session~~UNOPS Response: The forum will be one day each per location as mentioned in the ToR and the note in financial template " participants will check in after the day 1 morning session and will check out after the day 3, morning session." was included by mistakes in the template only at the part of activity under deliverables 5.Please kindly irgnore the remarks and follow ToR instruction for one day forum per location.With best regards,UNOPS Procurement Team

New clarification added: Dear Bidders,Please kindly find request for clarification and UNOPS responses as below:Questions: Hello,What impact will participating in this bid have on our eligibility for future GIS and Smart Grid projects with electric cooperatives and NEA? or does the restriction affect only the projects sponsored by UNOPS?Anwser: Please kindly refer to our Instruction to the Offerors on Article 4 Offeror Eligibility which stated clearly which situation will be fall under the conflict of interest as per UNOPS term and conditions. The Instruction to the Offerers was uploaded in the system along with tender documents at the time of tender posting.With best regards,UNOPS Procurement Team 

New clarification added: Questions: Dear Sir/Ma'am,1. Do you have a preferred software for simulating embedded system configurations?2. We'd like to request for an extension of time for submission to ensure our quality of submission. We deem that we need an additional week to prepare which would fall to a submission date of 13 May 2024.Thank you.Answers: 1. There is no preferred software, but NEA would appreciate a tool that is industry-accepted and where results are comparable for end-user's practical use.2. The tender has been extended up to 17 May 2024With best regards,UNOPS Procurement Team  

New clarification added: Dear Bidders,Please kindly find the reqeust for clarification and UNOPS respose as below:Question:Do we need to supply the required HW/SW tools for the enablement of the electric cooperatives (ECs) during the consulting engagement? For example, the open-access GIS software, database, and server hosting that will allow the ECs to visualize/update their GIS data. Another example is the simulation tool used for embedded RE optimization.UNOPS Responses: The outputs that are required to be subitted are summarized in Table 1. The supply of both HW and SW tools are not covered, but the Bidder shall cover in their financial proposal the resources they need to be able to deliver the requested outputs.With best regards,UNOPS Procurement Team 

New amendment added #2: The amendment initiated to extend the deadline for submission to 17 May 2024 at 12: 00 hours Manila time.

New clarification added: Dear bidders,Kindly find the clarification request from the bidders and UNOPS responses for your information:Clarification from bidders:Given the project'size and the time required to prepare a top-quality proposal, we would like to request for an extension of the submission deadline of at least 2 additional weeks. Indeed, we need to anticipate the preparation of field missions and provide a sufficiently large and best team of experts for this project.UNOPS Responses: Balancing the need to develop a quality proposal with the urgency of the project to kick off, we will extend the deadline to 17 May 2024, 12 noon (Manila local time). The amendment for time exdension will be reflect in the system soon.With best regards,UNOPS Team 

New clarification added: QUESTIONHello,What other forms of partnership are permitted for this bid? The RFP mentions only joint ventures; are subcontracting, consortiums, and teaming agreements also allowed?Regards,BidderANSWER:Dear bidders,All these types of partnership are permitted:1) JV / consortium2) subcontractingBidders should specify the specific partnership arrangement used

New clarification added: Question:the email of Mr. XXXXXX is: XXXX.YYY@ZZZZAnswer:Dear Valued bidder,Apologies for the delayed in response, and we hope the representative was able to attend . In case you were not able to, the presentation as well as the prebid minutes have been uploaded on to the platform. Should you have further clarification questions, please feel free to raise it through the system.thank youUNOPS Procurement team

New clarification added: Question Dear Madam, Dear Sir,We are interested to participate in the procurement process for the tender in subject.For this reason we would like to participate to the pre-bid meeting scheduled on Thursday, April 11 · 12:30 – 1:30pm, Bangkok Time.The participant will be Mr.XXXXXXXXWe know that the deadline for the request of participation expired yesterday, April 9th, but we kindly ask yo to accept our request of participation.AnswerDear Valued bidder,Apologies for the delayed in response, and we hope the representative was able to attend . In case you were not able to, the presentation as well as the prebid minutes have been uploaded on to the platform. Should you have further clarification questions, please feel free to raise it through the system.thank youUNOPS Procurement team 

New amendment added #1: The amendment initiated to upload the minutes and pre-bid meeting slide.