Local Government Energy Audit Program

1.       Who are the pre-qualified auditing firms?

The firms and their contact information can be found in Appendix A of the Guidelines and Application Forms packet or on the NJCEP website, NJCleanEnergy.com/LGEA. The current list of pre-qualified firms includes:

In order to participate in the NJCEP Local Government Energy Audit Program and to receive its incentives, you must send your RFP to ALL pre-qualified firms; if you have extenuating circumstances relating to this, feel free to contact us. You may not have a non-listed firm perform the audit. 

Yes, you can withdraw your RFP before you’ve awarded it to an auditing firm without repercussion.

The New Jersey Department of Treasury conducted a competitive bidding process to pre-qualify the five energy auditing firms for this program, specifically so that local governments would not have to advertise their RFPs. 

There’s no straightforward answer to this. Energy audit pricing is extremely dependent on the type of facilities you have, quantity, square footage, and energy consuming processes or equipment. Prices can range anywhere from $.10/sq ft to $.70/sq ft. Since this is difficult to estimate, you may want to send out an RFP for all your facilities to determine the cost for each. You can remove facilities from the scope of work once you receive the actual price quotes in the proposals.

6.       Is street lighting eligible for auditing?

Yes. Street lighting is eligible, but your particular usage will determine if this is truly cost effective. Please contact us prior to including street lighting in an RFP. 

The auditing firms are required to present their quotes as all-inclusive cost per facility, using pre-negotiated hourly rates. This means you should receive a price for each facility, and NO OTHER PRICES. This cost should include (but is not limited to): travel expenses, per diem, overhead, fee or profit, clerical support, safety equipment, materials, supplies, managerial support and all documents, forms, and reproductions. Proposals that show other expenses or fees will be considered as non-compliant. 

Yes, in accordance with NJ Public Procurement Regulations. 

Yes, bids must be made public in accordance with NJ Public Procurement Regulations. 

Yes.  From the time that TRC has issued the formal approval letter to the local government, the local government has 6 months to enter into contract with the specified auditing firm, get their audit performed, and have a final audit report submitted to TRC.  Under their contract with the NJ Department of Treasury, the selected auditing firm shall perform an energy audit of all buildings and facilities within 60 days of the date of the engagement for energy audit services between the engagement entity or cooperative purchasing partner and the energy audit contractor.

11.     Is there a requirement to implement measures once the audit is complete?

This depends on the year of your approval to the program. If you were approved in 2010, there is a requirement to implement measures in each building that was audited, and to spend, net Clean Energy incentives, at least 25% of the cost of the audit on that building. Approvals dated in 2011, and after, are encouraged to move forward with energy efficiency projects, but are not required by the program. Approvals prior to 2010 require the implementation in order to receive the 100% incentive, otherwise, the incentive is only 75%.

12.     How are the auditing firms paid?

The local government should pay the auditing firms directly. The incentive for this program is paid directly to the local government upon approval of the final report. Your contract terms with the selected contractor will determine how you make payments. We recommend paying the firm after the final audit report has been approved by the Program, as incentives will only be paid upon approval of the final report.

If the local government does not own the building, it must directly pay the utilities, thereby paying into the Societal Benefit Charge (SBC) which funds the Program. It must also have permission from the building owner to perform the audit AND to install any of the recommended measures. If a local government is able to provide documentation that both of these conditions are satisfied, they may perform the audit on the rented building.

Yes, Charter Schools are treated under the Public Schools Contract Law, and considered eligible local government entities.