1. Introduction 

 

The Mass Save Residential Turnkey Services Program as Administered by National Grid and Eversource and associated Lead Vendors, henceforth known as “Requestor”, are seeking responses through this Request for Quotations (“RFQ”) for qualified Residential Weatherization contractors, henceforth known as “Respondent”, to submit weatherization measure pricing with the intent of installation in qualified, existing homes. The Requestor will continue to provide program incentives to enable a participating network of Trade Allies to offer customer participants the highest quality work at a cost-effective price for these upgrades. 

 

Per the Green Communities act, the Requestor shall ensure that programs administered by them are delivered in a cost-effective manner capturing all available efficiency opportunities, minimizing administrative costs to the fullest extent practicable and fully utilizing competitive procurement processes.  

 

The Requestor will use a competitive bidding structure, once per year, or as the Requestor sees fit. Respondents joining the Residential Turnkey Services Program as Administered by National Grid and Eversource off bid cycle will be subject to established bid pricing until the next bidding RFQ. The Requestor expects to finalize pricing during Q2 2025. 

 

 

Key Dates 

 

Questions and requests for clarification due: April 14th, 2025, 5:00 p.m. 

 

Quotation submission deadline: May 7th, 2025, 5:00 p.m. 

 

See Schedule (Section 4) for additional information. 

 

 

About The Mass Save Residential Turnkey Services Program 

 

Your local electric and natural gas utilities and energy efficiency service provider are taking strides in energy efficiency: Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, National Grid and Unitil. As one, we form Mass Save®, with the common goal of helping residents and businesses across Massachusetts save money and energy, leading our state to a clean and energy efficient future. These programs and services are managed and delivered by electric and gas Sponsors (working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources), to provide the expertise to help you save energy and money. The funding is supported by a charge on customers’ energy bills. Through the joint efforts of the Mass Save collaborative, Massachusetts is one of the most energy efficient states in the country, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).  

 

Mass Save® works with a network of certified experts that are trained to serve customers through our Residential Turnkey Services Program. All participating experts must meet training and certification requirements to be eligible to work within the Residential Turnkey Services (formerly called Residential Coordinated Delivery “RCD” Program and formerly Home Energy Services “HES” Program). The Sponsors of Mass Save offer standardized pricing for program-approved weatherization improvements for customer convenience. All participating Respondents will offer the same pricing for insulation and air sealing. 

 

 

2. About this Request for Quotations (RFQ) 

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Participating Respondents will commit to a price structure that allows customers to pay affordable, fixed out-of-pocket costs for weatherization paired with a flat incentive percentage sponsored by Eversource and National Grid 

 

• The Requestor has established comprehensive installation guidelines for weatherization and air sealing in residential homes to facilitate the installation of appropriate materials. (Attachment 4) 

• Vendors have provided descriptions and instructions of what is expected for any individual measure, if necessary, on the Bidding Template. (Attachment 2a) 

  • Due to anticipated changes to the state building code, the Requestor is asking for measure pricing for certain measures to meet the new insulation R-value requirement of R-60. These are included in Attachment 2a for price setting. Additional details can be found in Attachment 9 for expected M&I standards. 

  • As part of their due diligence in exploring the cost effectiveness for the use of closed cell spray foam installation, in specific areas of a home, the Requestor is asking for pricing for some spray foam measures. All closed cell spray foam measures are listed as “Optional” measures. Additional details can be found in Attachment 9 for expected M&I standards. 

• Responses by Independent Insulation Contractors (IICs) to this RFQ will affect which IIC Respondents are eligible for Work Allocation. Please review Attachment 3 for information regarding IIC Work Allocation.  

  • On a zone-by-zone basis, the quantity of contractors awarded Work Allocations will be determined using the following process: 

    • The contractors with the most competitive bids, per zone, will be selected for Work Allocation for the next 12 months until Lead Vendor-provided expected volume have been satisfied using the following metrics: 

      • Lead Vendor-provided expected volume – per zone​ 

        • Based on historical averages of allocated  projects completed in each zone. 

      • Contractor-provided expected capacity – per zone​ 

        • Based on contractor defined capacity (Attachment 2b) and historical contractor throughput.  

  • The order of ranking for contractors awarded Work Allocations and HPC rankings will be determined using the following process: 

    • The volume of installed measures from January 2024 through December 2024 will be used to establish the total program spend, or baseline.​ 

    • A contractor's bid price for each measure will be applied to that same quantity of installed measures and the resulting sum will determine what the program spend would have been if that contractor’s bid prices were used.​ 

    • Contractors will then be ranked according to what percentage their bid would increase or decrease the total spend baseline. The most competitive bids will be ranked above less competitive bids in order from first to last amongst all IICs. 

      • Non-Bidders will not be ranked. 

  • Contractors may be selected for more than 1 zone. 

  • Contractors must maintain a minimum Contractor Grade Score of 9.0 or higher to continue receiving Work Allocations 

    • This RFQ will no longer affect an IIC’s “Overall Contractor Grade”. For details on grade calculation, see Attachment 3. 

    • The updated Work Allocation and Contractor Grade Scoring will be placed in effect on September 1st, 2025.  

• Responses by Home Performance Contractors (HPCs) to this RFQ will inform HPC Respondent’s placement in the Customer Acquisition Fee system. For details on placement calculation see Attachment 5. 

 

Interested Respondents are invited to respond to the RFQ as specified below. The Requestor encourages Respondents to leverage their experience for more efficient work practices, negotiate bulk pricing with suppliers, or any other cost efficiency actions that can bring the most competitive price to this bid process. 

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Basic Requirements and Obligations for Quoting Respondents 

 

To have your quotation considered:  

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• Respondents must be an active Mass Save participating contractor “In-Good-Standing” at the time that bid submissions are due. ​ 

• Selected Respondents must agree to follow the material and installation specifications as outlined in Attachment 4. 

• Respondents must successfully complete and submit Attachment 1, Attachment 2a and additionally for IICs 2b according to the instructions in Section 3 of this Request for Quotations. 

 

3. Quotation Outline and Instructions 

 

Respondents may review the attachments provided with this RFQ and/or listed on the online portal, to submit your bid. Submissions that fail to include the following documents may not be considered: 

• Representations and Signatures Page (Attachment 1)  

• Measure Cost Submission Template (in Excel format) (Attachment 2a) 

• For IICs Capacity and Zone Template (in Excel Format) (Attachment 2b) 

 

The Requestor has provided a bidding template of all eligible program weatherization measures. (Attachment 2a) 

• Respondents are to provide their best price for each measure by indicated unit in the column marked “New Cost Per Unit” or provide a percentage increase/decrease in column marked “Percentage Change” relative to the existing unit cost from column marked “Current Unit Cost”. 

  • Permit fees should not be included in unit pricing calculations. 

  • As a participating contractor, Respondents are required to install all measures that they bid on.  

    • All measures are required to be bid on unless the measure’s category is marked “Optional” on the Bidding Template (Attachment 2a). 

    • If a Measure is categorized as “Optional”, and the Respondent does not wish to enter a bid, they will input “X” in the No Bid Column, and their bid will not be considered for that specific measure.   

    • A minimum of 25% of all respondents are needed to bid on each measure line item to establish a price, otherwise the Requestor reserves the right to establish a price. 

  • Column marked “Validation” notifies Respondent of a potential outlying or incorrect bid on a measure-by-measure basis. 

    • Bids marked with a warning will be accepted.  

    • Bids marked with an error will NOT be accepted. 

• Upon request, Respondents may be asked to provide itemization backup for their quotation. (See Attachment 6 for example) 

• The Requestor has provided a Capacity and Zone Template representing the service area of the Program Administrators (Attachment 2b) 

  • The Respondent must indicate their anticipated project capacity for each Zone listed. 

 

Price Setting Criteria 

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Once the Requestor has established the set of acceptable bids, as described below, all bid submissions, per individual measure, will be averaged (by taking the mean) to set that measure’s price. 

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Establishing Accepted Bids for Price Setting. 

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The Requestor reserves the right to accept or reject any or all of the bids. Bids will be accepted from the following respondents:

 

• All HPC respondents 

• All IIC respondents awarded Work Allocations in at least 1 zone as a result of this RFQ. 

 

4. Quotation Submittal Process 

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Schedule  

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• Posting Request for Quotations 

  • Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025 

• Respondent Informational Call #1 

  • Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025, 10:00 AM 

• Respondent Informational Call #2 

  • Tuesday, April 8th, 2025, 10:00 AM  

• Deadline to submit written questions and requests for information 

  •  Monday, April 14th, 2025, 5:00 PM 

• Responses to to all written questions posted and closed​

  • Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025​

• Quotation Submission Deadline 

  • Wednesday, May 7th, 2025, 5:00 PM 

• Notification of Clarifications Required by Respondents​

  • Friday, May 9th, 2025​

• Clarifications due from Respondents​

  • Wednesday, May 14th, 2025​

• Notification of Results to Respondents ​

  • Wednesday, May 28th, 2025 

• New Pricing Launch 

  • Monday, June 9th, 2025 

• New IIC Work Allocation and scoring system implemented 

  • Monday, September 1st, 2025 

 

All times are displayed in Eastern Standard Time. 

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Questions and Requests for Additional Information 

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Any questions and/or requests for clarification or additional information regarding this RFQ should be submitted in writing, via email and received by Monday, April 14th, 2025, 5:00 PM to MassSaveRFQ@therisegroupinc.com or through the email link in the RFQ submission portal, found at https://www.wxpricebidding.com. Emails should be clearly labeled with the subject line "Request for Clarification-Measure Cost Bidding RFQ". Requestor staff or Lead Vendor staff are not available for verbal conversations with individuals. All Questions and Responses will be available on   https://www.wxpricebidding.com/faq no later than Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025. 

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Quotation Submittal and Method of Delivery 

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All quotations should be clear, complete, and concise. Emailed, faxed, or mailed quotations will not be accepted. The Requestor will only accept quotations by use of the online portal found at https://www.wxpricebidding.com and are to be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 7th, 2025, 5:00 PM. The Requestor will not be obligated to consider information received after this deadline.  

 

If a Respondent would like to submit their bid using a method outside of the online portal, please email for further discussion. The Requestor agrees to consider submitted quotations equally and without favorability regardless of approved submission method, as discussed by both Requestor and Respondent. 

 

Withdrawal and Modification of Quotations 

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Respondents may withdraw their quotation and submit a revised quotation prior to the response deadline. After the response deadline, Respondent-initiated changes will not be accepted unless Requestor, in its sole discretion, determines otherwise. Respondents may withdraw their quotation from consideration at any time by emailing MassSaveRFQ@therisegroupinc.com labeled with a subject line "Withdrawal or Modification-Measure Cost Bidding RFQ". 

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Any material submitted by a Respondent will become the property of the Requestor. The Requestor may amend the RFQ at any time prior to the quotation due date by issuance of a written amendment to all Respondents participating in the process. The Requestor may also cancel, delay, or suspend this solicitation if in the best interest of the program. The Requestor may reject any or all quotations, in whole or in part, if in the best interest of the program as determined by the Requestor. 

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Notification for Clarification 

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During the evaluation process, The Requestor may request any clarification needed to understand the proposing Respondent’s approach and/or request a resubmittal of submission. 

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Governing Provisions 

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All submitted quotations are subject to the following governing provisions: 

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1. Agreement to All Terms 

• By submitting a response to this RFQ, the Respondent represents that it is authorized to submit a response, all information provided in the response is true and correct, and the Respondent explicitly agrees and accepts the following provisions of this RFQ and all other terms and conditions set forth in this RFQ. 

 

2. Right to Accept or Reject 

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• This RFQ is not an agreement to purchase goods or services. The Requestor is not bound to enter into a contract to purchase goods or services with any Respondent. The Requestor reserves the right to modify the terms of this RFQ at any time in its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel this RFQ at any time. 

• Further, the Requestor reserves the right to waive any nonconformity in submissions received, to accept or reject any or all of the ims in any submission and set measure prices as they see fit in whole or in part as it is deemed in the Requestor’s best interest. 

 

3. Prevention of Collusion, Fraud, or Intent to Deceive 

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• Bid-rigging or otherwise undermining a competitive process is a violation of the Massachusetts consumer protection act, (M.G.L. c. 93A.) and violators could be subject to legal action. 

• If it is found that any Respondent or group of Respondents is colluding to influence others, defraud, or artificially inflate quotation pricing, the Requestor can exercise their rights to reject those bids or all bids and require resubmittal, or set the price on their own. 

• Those who are found to have colluded may be barred from participation in the Mass Save Programs sponsored by the Requestors. 

• Respondents have a responsibility to report any knowledge of attempts to collude to influence others, defraud, or artificially inflate quotation pricing.  Failure to do so may result in also being barred from participation in the Mass Save Programs sponsored by the Requestors. 

 

4. Ownership of Responses 

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• All materials submitted in response to this RFQ shall become the property of the Requestor and shall not be returned to the Respondent. 

 

5. Confidentiality 

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• The Requestor shall maintain confidentiality of all information unless Respondent clearly identifies those portions of their responses that they agree to have revealed to third parties and label such portions as such, except as required under law or for regulatory purposes. 

 

6. Respondent Expenses and Waiver of Claims 

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• Respondents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing a response and for any subsequent negotiations. The Requestor will not be liable to any Respondent for any claims, whether for costs or damages incurred by the Respondent in preparing the response, loss of anticipated profit in connection with any final pricing or any other matter whatsoever. Respondent waives any right it might have to bring a claim against The Requestor, its Board of Directors, employees, contractors, or agents with respect to any matter arising out of the RFQ.