Each year, Maine PowerOptions initiates a Request for Proposal (RFP) process on behalf of its eligible members for the purchase of fuel products. Maine PowerOptions then puts the member's usage information out to bid to a large pool of interested local oil suppliers throughout the state, giving them an opportunity to bid on one or more of the Maine PowerOptions participating organizations.

Suppliers receive bid sheets that are segregated by entity, and further divided into fuel types and pricing options. Suppliers are encouraged to bid on accounts within their distribution area. They can bid on whatever products, pricing options, and accounts they feel they can be competitive in. The RFP is issued at a time most favorable, based on available market information. We generally start gathering usage information in late March and begin the RFP process in April.

Maine PowerOptions members can request to have their current supplier included in the Request For Proposal.  Simply provide us with the supplier's name, the contact person, mailing address, and telephone number and they will be included in the next RFP.

In preparation for the bid process, participating organizations are asked to complete a Fuel Program Facility Survey. The Survey helps Maine PowerOptions staff gather and compile information necessary for the suppliers to provide an accurate proposal. Information required includes:

	Types of products the participant requires -- heating oil #2, #4, #5, #6(high and low sulfur), kerosene, unleaded gas, propane and diesel.
	The delivery locations, tank sizes, etc.
	Special delivery instructions, if any.
	Maintenance requirements/services, if any.
	Other issues as requested by the participant.

As part of the process, potential suppliers are asked to offer three pricing options for participants to choose from:

	Firm Fixed Price - price for fuel oil remains fixed for the length of the contract.
	Floating or Indexed Price - price of fuel oil floats with the designated market index, with the overhead, transportation, and profit components of the pricing remaining fixed for the length of the contract.
	Prepaid - similar to the firm fixed price, the prepaid price requires the participant to prepay the entire year's volume of product.

Once bids are returned, Maine PowerOptions analyzes the supplier responses and prepares a Commitment Sheet that provides the participants with the lowest bid price for each pricing option and for each fuel product.

The Commitment Sheet also lists the participant's fuel product, pricing option, vendor name, price per gallon, access fee, estimate of annual usage and contract cycle. By signing the Commitment Sheet the participant agrees to purchase the fuel products from the supplier at the specified terms for the length of the contract cycle.

Using the Commitment Sheet the participants can select their desired pricing option by checking the appropriate box, initialing the bottom and faxing it back to Maine PowerOptions within the specified time frame (the average turnaround requirement is 24-48 hours).

Member organizations may view a SAMPLE Facility Survey form and Commitment Sheet from this site using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you can get it here for free by clicking below.