City of Ann Arbor

Buyer seeks information from qualified firms to provide municipal utility start-up technical and administrative consulting services. The services are for exploring the creation of a supplemental, opt-in, 100% renewable energy powered Sustainable Energy Utility. The project includes two phases: exploratory work in preparation for launching an SEU, and tasks necessary to launch the SEU if authorized by voters. The contract period is expected to be up to 18 months.

• 9/9/2024 - Deadline to Submit Questions
• 9/20/2024 - Proposal Due Date

• Experience starting new or expanding existing municipal utilities
• Extensive experience supporting local governments with creating utility structures
• Understanding of the Michigan energy ecosystem
• Previous experience with ratemaking

• Determine optimal organizational structure for SEU
• Create staffing plan and service deployment schedule
• Develop customer recruitment and retention plan
• Identify funding streams and support grant writing
• Provide technical recommendations for solar and energy storage deployment
• Evaluate MISO participation by the SEU
• Draft standard specifications for SEU infrastructure
• Create rate model compliant with Michigan law
• Support meetings with DTE for interconnection processes
• Analyze costs of deploying networked geothermal systems