Austin Energy All Source RFP 2025

Austin Energy, a municipal electric utility serving over 480,000 customer accounts in the Greater Austin area, is seeking proposals for the long-term purchase of energy, capacity, and associated environmental attributes/renewable energy credits (RECs) from utility-scale local energy resources located in the ERCOT service region and specifically in the PUCT-defined retail load zone for Austin Energy.

The RFP solicits proposals for up to 400 MW of capacity and associated energy from resources utilizing any of the following technologies: solar, wind, short and long duration storage, natural gas, fuel cell technology, geothermal, hydrogen, and other electric generation technologies. Proposals must include utility-scale resources that meet applicable regulatory and industry safety, environmental, and operational standards including ERCOT, Texas Reliability Entity (TRE), and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards. Contract terms will range from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 30 years. The point of delivery will be at the applicable resource interconnection point into an ERCOT-registered Transmission Service Provider (TSP) pursuant to an executed Interconnection Agreement, or alternatively, at LZ_AEN.

Proposers must submit comprehensive proposals including term sheets, financial capability documentation (with two years of audited financial statements), corporate and professional experience details, generating resource technical specifications, cost/pricing information, and a detailed work site agreement implementation plan addressing diversity, prevailing wages, apprenticeship training, utilization of local workforce, and Inflation Reduction Act compliance. All proposals must be submitted in PDF format (with individual emails not exceeding 20 MB) to EnergySupply@austinenergy.com by the deadline. Proposers must identify any proprietary information at the time of submittal, as all materials become public property subject to the Texas Public Information Act upon receipt.

Key evaluation criteria include proposer experience with the offered technology, financial capability and ability to provide required collateral support, project viability (design, schedule, site control, permitting status, interconnection status, financing plan, capacity factors, transmission congestion, expected commercial operation date, operations plan, and decommissioning plan), total evaluated cost (including operational flexibility, congestion/location risk, energy delivery schedule, and net present energy value), market references, previous business relationships, and proposer reputation including commitment to Austin's Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan. After initial compliance review, proposals will be assessed using integrated network power market models to identify shortlisted proposals. Selected finalists may be invited for interviews to provide best and final pricing offers before submission to senior management for approval.