Rule 515-7-13-.05 - Pre-Qualification Process(1) All Bidders shall be required to submit information to the Commission in order to establish the Bidder's financial and technical qualifications necessary to serve as the Regulated Provider. Specifically, the Bidder must have sufficient technical and financial qualifications to complete an effective and efficient transition into its role as the new Regulated Provider. The determination for pre-qualification of a Bidder's financial capability to serve as Regulated Provider will be based on the following:
(a) The Bidder's ability to meet the increased credit requirements of the EDC's approved security deposit necessary to serve customers (e.g., parental/corporate guarantee, letter of credit, surety bond);(b) The Bidder's ability to manage the Regulated Provider's Group 1 and Group 2 customer load, including, but not limited to 1. Proficient knowledge and experience with the EDC's Gas Operating System and Electronic Bulletin Board systems;4. Interfacing with the Commission, Commission Staff, and other state agencies, as needed; (c) The Bidder's ability to provide the additional resources needed to manage the Regulated Provider program without diminishing its ability to serve its existing customer base, if applicable;(d) If applicable, the Bidder's past experience as Regulated Provider;(e) The Bidder's compliance with the service quality standards as set forth in Commission Rule 515-7-8;(f) The number of complaints that have resulted in enforcement action against the Bidder;(g) The Bidder's ability to meet the required increased interstate pipeline security deposit necessary to serve customers;(h) The Bidder's ability to manage bad debt and collections for the Regulated Provider's customer base;(i) The Bidder's ability to provide the additional resources needed to manage the Regulated Provider program without diminishing its ability to serve its existing customer base, if applicable;(j) The Bidder's ability to ensure against cross subsidization between Group 1, Group 2, and/or the Bidder's other customers; and(k) The Bidder's ability to withstand reasonable financial losses and/or obligations in its Georgia operations by providing the following information:1. The last three years of income statements, balance sheets, statement of cash flows, and all debt information. If available, this requirement can be satisfied by prior filings with the Commission;2. In those instances in which a Bidder proposes to provide a corporation or parent company as the financial guarantor to be responsible for collateral requirements and/or obligations insuring against any losses incurred by the Regulated Provider, the most current six months of the corporation's or parent company's financial statements, as listed above (income statements, balance sheets, statement of cash flows, and all debt information), supported by the sworn certification of a Company officer;3. Sufficient information to demonstrate that there is adequate funding to manage the cash flow/working capital requirements of the Regulated Provider during the winter months; and4. A Parental or corporate guarantee must also be provided stating that the Parent or Corporation agrees to financially back the Bidder with a specific dollar amount. (2) Within five (5) days of the Commission's issuance of the Request for Proposal, provided that a signed confidentiality agreement between the incumbent Regulated Provider and the prospective Bidder has been executed, the incumbent Regulated Provider shall provide the information listed below to the prospective Bidders for each month of the current Regulated Provider term. The incumbent Regulated Provider shall update such information to such potential Bidders each month thereafter until the Commission's determination of pre-qualification status. (a) Total Accounts Receivables, write-offs, collections, and aging reports detailing the following receivables data broken out for both Group 1 and Group 2 customers: (b) Bad debt reports for Group 1 and Group 2 for each quarter of operation, including but not limited to the following: 1. Dollar amounts in arrears; and2. Write offs (dollar amount and number of customers);(c) Number of shut-offs for non-payments submitted to the EDC for Group 1 and Group 2 including number of actual disconnections;(d) Number of customer requested turn-offs for Group 1 and Group 2;(e) Consumption data by pool group for both Group 1 and Group 2 customers;(f) Number of inbound calls and average length of call, as well as any available breakdown of calls by general types of calls and subject matter (such as request for payment arrangements, request for duplicate copy of bill, inquiry regarding charges on bill, and so forth);(g) Number of customers switching each month from Group 1 to Group 2 and number of customers switching each month from Group 2 to Group 1;(h) Number of payment arrangements;(i) A description and/or copy of a sample bill for Group 1 and Group 2 customers;(j) The number of customers, by primary pool, broken down into Group 1 and Group 2;(k) The average DDDC, broken down by primary pool and by Group 1 and 2;(l) A description of customer education or assistance programs administered through or in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Human Resources ("DHR"), including any statistical information about monthly or yearly customer contacts in connection with these programs;(m) A description of all non-propriety computer systems in place that provide for communication with the DHR and community action agencies;(n) The amount of the deposit provided to the EDC and interstate pipelines in support of the Regulated Provider customer class; and(o) A description of any fixed price or other commitments made to customers that extend beyond the scheduled term of the Regulated Provider.(3) The Commission shall determine the potential Bidders' financial and technical capabilities to serve as Regulated Provider by the end of the calendar year in which the RFP is issued, unless the Commission extends the term of the incumbent Regulated provider, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 46-4-166(f)prior to such time.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 515-7-13-.05
O.C.G.A. §§ 46-2-30, 46-4-150et seq. (See especially, O.C.G.A. § 46-4-166)
Original Rule entitled "Pre-Qualification Process" adopted. F. Aug. 27, 2008; eff. Sept. 16, 2008.Amended: F. July 23, 2018; eff. August 12, 2018.