20 ILCS 3855/1-77

(20 ILCS 3855/1-77)

Sec. 1-77. The Planning and Procurement Bureau; feedstock procurement administrator; qualified expert or expert consulting firm.

(a) The Planning and Procurement Bureau shall at least every 5 years beginning in 2015 develop feedstock procurement plans and conduct competitive feedstock procurement processes in accordance with the requirements of Section 1-78 of this Act.

(1) The Agency shall at least every 5 years beginning in 2015 issue a request for qualifications for experts or expert consulting firms to develop the feedstock procurement plans in accordance with Section 1-78 of this Act. In order to qualify, an expert or expert consulting firm must have:

(A) direct previous experience assembling large scale feedstock supply plans or portfolios for industrial customers;

(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, engineering, risk management, or a related area of study;

(C) ten years of experience in the energy sector, including managing supply risk;

(D) expertise in wholesale feedstock markets, which may be particularized to the specific type of feedstock to be purchased in that procurement event;

(E) expertise in credit protocols and familiarity with contract protocols;

(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the required functions and responsibilities; and

(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the affected clean coal SNG brownfield facility.

(2) The Agency shall at least every 5 years beginning in 2015 issue a request for qualifications for a feedstock procurement administrator to conduct the competitive feedstock procurement processes in accordance with Section 1-78 of this Act. In order to qualify, an expert or expert consulting firm must have:

(A) direct previous experience administering a large scale competitive feedstock procurement process;

(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, engineering, or a related area of study;

(C) ten years of experience in the energy sector, including risk management experience;

(D) expertise in wholesale feedstock market rules, which may be particularized to the specific type of feedstock to be purchased in that procurement event;

(E) expertise in credit and contract protocols;

(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the required functions and responsibilities; and

(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the affected clean coal SNG brownfield facility.

(3) The Agency shall provide the clean coal SNG brownfield facility and other interested parties with the lists of qualified experts or expert consulting firms identified through the request for qualifications processes that are under consideration to develop the feedstock procurement plans and to serve as the feedstock procurement administrator. The Agency shall also provide the clean coal SNG brownfield facility and other interested parties with each qualified expert's or expert consulting firm's response to the request for qualifications. All information provided under this subparagraph (3) shall also be provided to the Commission. The Agency may provide by rule for fees associated with supplying the information to the clean coal SNG brownfield facility and other interested parties. The clean coal SNG brownfield facility and other interested parties must, within 5 business days after receiving the lists and information, notify the Agency in writing if they object to any experts or expert consulting firms on the lists. Objections shall be based on:

(A) failure to satisfy qualification criteria;

(B) identification of a conflict of interest; or

(C) evidence of inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the clean coal SNG brownfield facility.

The Agency shall remove an expert or expert consulting firm from the list within 10 days if there is a reasonable basis for an objection and provide the updated list to the clean coal SNG brownfield facility and other interested parties. If the Agency fails to remove an expert or expert consulting firm from a list, then an objecting party may seek review by the Commission within 5 days thereafter by filing a petition, and the Commission shall render a ruling on the petition within 10 days after the filing. There is no right of appeal of the Commission's ruling.

(4) The Agency shall, as needed, issue requests for proposals to the qualified experts or expert consulting firms to develop a feedstock procurement plan for the clean coal SNG brownfield facility and to serve as feedstock procurement administrator.

(5) The Agency shall select an expert or expert consulting firm to develop feedstock procurement plans based on the proposals submitted and shall award one-year contracts to those selected with an option for the Agency for a one-year renewal.

(6) The Agency shall select, with the approval of the Commission, an expert or expert consulting firm to serve as feedstock procurement administrator based on the proposals submitted. If the Commission rejects the Agency's selection within 5 days after being notified of the Agency's selection, then the Agency shall submit another recommendation within 3 days after the Commission's rejection based on the proposals submitted. The Agency shall award at least a one-year contract to the expert or expert consulting firm selected with the Commission's approval with an option for the Agency for renewal for a term equal to the term of the contract.

(b) The experts or expert consulting firms retained by the Agency shall, as appropriate, prepare feedstock procurement plans and conduct a competitive feedstock procurement process as prescribed in Section 1-78 of this Act to ensure adequate, reliable, affordable feedstocks, taking into account any benefits of price stability, for the clean coal SNG brownfield facility.

(c) The draft procurement plans are subject to public comment pursuant to Section 1-78 of this Act.

(d) The Agency shall assess fees to each bidder to recover the costs incurred in connection with the competitive procurement process.

(Source: P.A. 97-96, eff. 7-13-11.)