Maryland SOS Procurement Sees Significant Increase in Bidder Participation

Maryland's recent RFP for SOS supplies for the residential and Type I classes saw a significant improvement in bidder participation versus the October 2010 procurement, bid monitor Boston Pacific said in testimony.

In the recent procurement, 4.5 MW was bid for every MW needed for residential and Type I service. This is up modestly from 4.2 MW in the April procurement, but up significantly from the 2.6 MW bid for every MW solicited in the October 2010 RFP. The low participation in October 2010 had led Boston Pacific to raise concerns about the competitiveness of the procurements going forward (see 11/1/10)

For residential service at Potomac Edison, which has seen some of the lowest levels of bidder participation recently, 4.0 MW was bid for each MW required in the October 2011 RFP, consistent with the June 2011 residential RFP.

For Type II service, an average of 6.0 MW was bid for every MW needed across all utilities.

The October 2011 RFP produced nine winners across all products, up from seven in April 2011 and October 2010.

Eleven bidders participated in the recent RFP.

All winning prices came in below the Price Anomaly Threshold.