Public Service Commission names third‑party energy-efficiency administrator after contested presentations

The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved a vendor to serve as the statewide energy‑efficiency program administrator after hearing presentations and questioning from all three finalists. Staff opened the RFP discussion by summarizing proposals received for a transition year followed by a multi‑year program; the three finalists conducted short presentations and answered commissioners’ questions on cost, program design and low‑income outreach.

Commissioner Lewis told bidders he wanted clarity on budgets and whether lower bids might be a prelude to requests for additional funding. Michelle Creger, introduced as a program director for Aptim (transcribed in the record as “apum/aptum”), said the company based its cost estimates on experience in other states and, when pressed, repeatedly affirmed the bids were intended to cover transition‑year work plus scaling to a five‑year program. Frontier Energy and TRC each described approaches to prioritize incentives for customers and to partner with local trade allies and community organizations to reach high‑burden households.

Commission debate focused on administration costs versus direct customer incentives. Frontier representatives described a model that would target approximately 80% of total program spending to customer incentives and limit admin plus implementation overhead to about 20% of total spending; some commissioners urged caps or tighter review of administration percentages. Commissioners also questioned potential conflicts for a bidder that currently works with utilities and asked how incumbency would be managed during a transition year.

Commissioner Green moved to accept the lowest bid (identified in the record as Aptim); the motion passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the transcript. The commission approved related staff recommendations for transition‑year planning and retained the vendor as described in the RFP record. Commissioners said they expect continued oversight during the transition year, including updates on cost control, program design and low‑income targeting.

The commission documented multiple follow‑up directions for staff, including seeking presentations from DOE loan‑office staff on grid‑enhancing technologies and receiving a written response from utilities about grid enhancements they are considering.

The record shows staff and commissioners emphasized that final budgets and program details will be set in the transition process and that the selection authorizes staff to finalize contracts consistent with the RFP and commission orders.