South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 103 - PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Article 8 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE › Section 103-811 - Procedure to Employ, through Contract or Otherwise, Qualified, Independent Third-Party Consultants or Experts

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
The Public Service Commission shall use a formal Request for
				Proposals process to hire, through contract or otherwise, external qualified,
				independent third-party consultants or experts.
A. Request for Proposals
External qualified, independent third-party consultants or
				experts shall be procured via Request for Proposals (RFP). Any proposed RFP
				shall be addressed by the Commission at a publicly noticed meeting where the
				Commission will determine whether an RFP must be released and shall state the
				reason(s) for the RFP. Thereafter, the Commission Staff shall prepare and
				publish the RFP in accordance with the Commission Directive. If the Commission
				Staff utilizes the Department of Administration's services to issue and publish
				the RFP, the Department of Administration will only issue and publish the RFP,
				and the Commissioners shall decide to hire external qualified, independent
				third-party consultants or experts at a publicly noticed meeting.
B. Process for Opening Sealed
			 Responses to Request for Proposals
All Request for Proposals submissions or filings to the
				Commission must be filed in a sealed envelope. Such submissions by prospective
				external qualified, independent third-party consultants or experts will remain
				sealed until a publicly noticed meeting. At this meeting, at the direction of
				the Chairman, the sealed submissions will be opened and the name(s) of the
				filer(s) and other relevant information as requested by the Commissioners will
				be revealed. The relevant information regarding the filer(s) and other general
				information about the filing(s) will become a part of the record for the
				meeting. During this meeting, the Commissioners shall approve a schedule to
				review the submission(s), including, but not limited to, instructing the
				Commission Staff to file the response(s) to the RFP in the appropriate docket
				on the Docket Management System; scheduling public interviews which are
				livestreamed or publicly video broadcasted; scheduling deadlines for the
				parties in the affected dockets to submit questions for the prospective
				external qualified, independent third-party consultants or experts; scheduling
				deadlines for the parties in the relevant dockets to file feedback, comments,
				etc. regarding post-interview issues; scheduling deadlines for the prospective
				external qualified, independent third-party consultants or experts to submit a
				written conflicts check letter; scheduling deadlines for the Commission to
				provide the prospective external qualified, independent third-party consultants
				or experts with proposed questions from the Commissioners.
C. Process for Publication of Request for
			 Proposals
The process for RFPs shall include issuance of written Request
				for Proposals indicating, at a minimum, in general terms that which is sought
				to be procured and containing or incorporating by reference the other
				applicable contractual terms and conditions, including any unique capabilities,
				specifications, or qualifications that will be required.
Proposals may be solicited using the following tools within the
				Commission's Public Information Office: social media, the Commission's website,
				local media, NARUC, and national job websites.
D. Additional Information Regarding the RFP
			 Process
During the public interview, the prospective external
				qualified, independent third-party consultants or experts shall be encouraged
				to elaborate on their qualifications and performance data or employee/staff
				expertise pertinent to the proposed project, as well as alternative concepts.
				Proprietary information from competing prospective external qualified,
				independent third-party consultants or experts shall not be disclosed to the
				public or to competitors.
The Commissioners shall decide to hire external qualified,
				independent third-party consultants or experts at a publicly noticed
				meeting.
If the terms and conditions for multiple awards are included in
				the RFP, the Commission may award contracts to more than one qualified,
				independent third-party consultant or expert.
E. Bonds on Professional Services
The Public Service Commission may require performance bonds for
				contracts for external qualified, independent third-party consultants or
				experts if stated in the RFP.