(1) A conservation and efficiency resource supplier may participate in the bidding process for any resource need. A utility or its subsidiary or affiliate may participate as a conservation resource supplier subject to the conditions described in WAC 480-107-024.

(2) All conservation and efficiency measures within a bid must produce savings that can be reliably measured or estimated with accepted engineering, statistical, or meter-based methods.

(3) A utility must acquire conservation and efficiency resources through a competitive procurement process as described in this rule unless the utility is implementing a competitive procurement framework for conservation and efficiency resources as approved by the commission.

(a) As part of that process, a utility may develop, and update each biennium, a competitive procurement framework for conservation and efficiency resources in consultation with its conservation advisory group, as described in WAC 480-109-110. The utility may file its first competitive procurement framework for conservation and efficiency resources with the utility's 2022-2023 biennial conservation plan.

(b) The competitive procurement framework for conservation and efficiency resources must:

(i) Define the specific criteria that the utility will use to determine the frequency of competitive bidding for conservation and efficiency resource programs, in whole or part;

(ii) Address appropriate public participation, outreach, and communication of evaluation and selection criteria;

(iii) Enhance or, at minimum, not interfere with the adaptive management of programs;

(iv) Include documentation of support by the advisory group; and

(v) Be filed as an appendix to the utility's biennial conservation plan, as described in WAC 480-109-120.

(c) The competitive procurement framework for conservation and efficiency resources may:

(i) Exempt particular programs from competitive procurement, such as low-income, market transformation, or self-directed programs; and

(ii) Consider if and when to use an independent evaluator.