FirstEnergy Corp., an electric utility headquartered in Akron, Ohio, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase Ohio-compliant renewable energy credits (RECs) for its Ohio utilities – Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Co. and Toledo Edison. The purchases will help meet the companies’ 2020 renewable energy targets established under Ohio’s alternative energy law.
RECs sought in this RFP must be eligible for compliance with the companies’ 2020 renewable energy obligations in accordance with rules and procedures put forth by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), be deliverable through PJM’s Environmental Information System Generation Attribute Tracking System (EIS GATS) and generated between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2020. The companies plan to purchase 373,000 RECs, which can include solar renewable energy credits.
One REC represents the environmental attributes of 1 MWh of generation from a PUCO-qualified renewable generating facility. The cost of the RECs is recovered from utility customers through a monthly charge filed quarterly with the PUCO.
No energy or capacity will be purchased under the RFP. The number of individual bidders is not limited. Participants in the RFP must meet and maintain specific credit and security qualifications and must be able to prove their REC generating facilities are certified or in the process of becoming certified by the PUCO.
The RFP is a competitive process managed by Guidehouse Inc., an independent evaluator and a global consulting firm with expertise in energy markets, renewables and competitive procurements. Based on the RFP results, the Ohio utilities will enter into agreement(s) with winning suppliers to purchase the necessary quantities of RECs.
FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities have a website to provide bidders with a central source of documents, data and other information for the RFP process.
On Oct. 8, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. EPT, the FirstEnergy Ohio utilities and their consultant, Guidehouse, will conduct a webinar to outline the RFP process and the terms of the agreement, as well as to provide a forum to submit any questions. Questions also may be submitted during the RFP process directly through the RFP website.
To participate in the RFP, potential bidders are encouraged to submit credit applications by Nov. 2, 2020, and proposals are due Nov. 10, 2020, by 5 p.m. EPT.
