* Notified in the U.P. Official Gazzette on 16th March
2000In exercise of powers conferred on it by sub-section (4)
of Section 8, sub-section (4) of Section 9, and sub-section
(1) of Section 52 of the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Reforms
Act, 1999 (UP Act No. 24 of 1999), and all powers enabling it
in that behalf, the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory
Commission hereby makes the following Regulations, namely:
1. Short title and commencement
These Regulations may be called the Uttar Pradesh
Electricity Regulatory Commission (Appointment of
Consultants) Regulations, 2000.
These shall come into force on the date of their
publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions
In these Regulations unless the context otherwise
requires : -
"Commission" means the Uttar Pradesh Electricity
Regulatory Commission constituted under Section 3(1)(a) of
the Act.
"Consultant" includes any individual, firm, body or
association or persons, not in the employment of the
Commission, who or which possesses or has access to any
specialized knowledge, experience or skill.
"Officer" means an officer of the Commission.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Commission.
Words or expressions occurring in these Regulations and
not defined herein but defined in the Act shall bear the
same meaning as in the Act or in the Uttar Pradesh
Electricity Regulatory Commission (Conduct of Business)
Regulations, 2000 shall bear the same meaning as in the Act
or in the said Conduct of Business Regulations.
3. Scope of Work
The Commission may from time to time engage Consultants
for executing specialized tasks for which skills are either
not available within the staff of the Commission or where
the nature of jobs is specific and time-bound or where the
Commission considers it to be conductive to its working to
appoint.
The terms and conditions of engagement of Consultants
will be drawn up in each case and agreed to between the
Consultant and the Commission prior to award of consultancy.
The terms of engagement would specify the exact nature
of the tasks to be undertaken by the Consultant, the time
allowed for completion of each task and the specific outputs
that are to be provided by the Consultant in relation to
each task.
4. Period of
engagement
Consultants will be engaged for
the minimum period required. In no case will the maximum
period of engagement exceed two years.
5. Categorization of Consultants
Individual consultants will be categorised into three
groups based on their expertise and experience, as per the
table given below: -
Category
Minimum Experience
Advisers
15 years
Senior Consultants
10 years
Consultants
3 years
The Commission may in appropriate case, for reasons to
be recorded in writing, relax the minimum experience,
keeping in view the overall expertise of the person being
considered for engagement as Consultant.
The Commission may prescribe minimum educational
qualifications, depending on the nature of the work, and the
relevant professional qualifications related to subject area
of the consultancy.
6. Fees
& Other Charges
Except where the Commission decides otherwise for
reasons to be recorded the Consultants will be appointed
generally on a consolidated fee at the rates mentioned in
Schedule 'A'. The Commission may from time to time revise
the amounts specified in the Schedule, by an order to be
made by the Commission.
No other payments apart from the consolidated fee will
be paid except an additional amount to cover contingencies,
which will be capped at an amount of 10% of the fees
payable.
Where the Consultants have to incur expenditure on
travel and stay at a place away from the normal place of
residence, the Commission will reimburse DA by allowing an
additional expenditure as specified in the Schedule. The
number of days for which this will be payable will be
determined as appropriate in each case. The cost of travel
will be separately reimbursed by an appropriate class of
travel, which will never be lower than that permitted for a
Grade A gazetted officer of the Government of India.
7. Appointment of
Consultants
Terms of Reference (TOR) for the appointment of
Consultants for specific tasks will be prepared by an
officer of the Commission and will be submitted to the
Secretary for seeking the approval of the Commission.
The Commission may decide either to invite combined
technical and financial proposals or separate technical and
financial proposals.
The Commission will prescribe the minimum qualifying
mark for the technical bid
After approval of the TOR by the Commission, the
Secretary will cause the Request for Proposals to be issued,
inviting proposals from interested consultants giving
publicity as may be appropriate in each case. It will not,
however, be necessary to go through the process of issue of
public advertisement, particularly where the value of the
fee is below Rs.5 lakh in each case.
8. Request for proposals
The
request for proposals shall include the following : -
A letter of invitation stating the intention of the
Commission to enter into a contract for provision of a
consulting services, the source of funds, the details of the
plan and the date, time and address for submission of
proposals.
Information to Consultants shall contain all necessary
information that will help Consultants prepare responsive
proposals by providing information on the evaluation process
and by indicating the evaluation criteria and factors and
their respective weights and the minimum pre-qualification
score.
Terms of reference shall be prepared to specify the
objectives, goals and scope of the assignment and provide
background information including a list of existing relevant
studies and basic data to facilitate the Consultants
preparation of their proposals. If transfer of knowledge,
training is an objective, the TOR will detail the number of
staff to be trained. TOR shall list the services and surveys
necessary to carry out the assignment and the expected
outputs (for example reports, data, surveys etc.) linked to
each task in the TOR.
Draft contract as may be prescribed.
9. Receipt of proposals
The Commission will prescribe the time within which the
Consultants shall prepare and submit their proposals.
The Commission may decide to extend the deadline for
submission of proposals, as deemed appropriate by it.
No amendments to the technical or financial proposals
shall be accepted after the deadline except before a
negotiating committee appointed by the Commission. The
proposals shall be submitted in sealed cover. Where the
Commission prescribes that separate technical and financial
proposals be submitted, they shall be submitted in separate
sealed envelops.
10.
Evaluation of proposals
The proposals will
be evaluated both on the basis of quality as well as cost.
Where the Commission decides that proposals are to be
evaluated separately on technical and financial basis, the
evaluators of the technical proposal shall not have access to
the financial proposals, until the technical evaluation is
completed.
11. Technical
Evaluation
Technical evaluation will be done by a committee to be
nominated by the Commission taking into account the criteria
mentioned below. Each criterion shall be marked on a scale
of 1 to 100 and then the marks for each criterion shall be
weighted to become average technical scores. Weights in the
following ranges will be used by the technical committee
with the approval of the Commission to calculate the
weighted average technical score for each proposal :-
Criterion
Range of Weights
The Consultants relevant experience for
the assignment
0.10 to
0.40
The quality of the methodology proposed
0.20 to
0.50
The qualifications of the key staff
proposed
0.30 to
0.60
The extent of transfer of knowledge to
the staff of the Commission
0.05 to
0.35
Note: The mix of weights
approved by the Commission will total to 1.
Where the assignment depends critically on the
performance of the key staff, the proposal shall be
evaluated on the qualifications of the individuals proposed
to be appointed using the following criteria : -
General qualifications: General education and
training, length of experience, positions held, time with
the consulting firm as staff, experience in developing
countries etc.
Adequacy for the assignment: Education, training,
experience in the specific sector, field, subject and
relevance to the particular assignment.
Regional Experience: knowledge of the administrative
system, organization and culture at the local / regional
level.
After the technical evaluation is completed the
Commission shall inform those Consultants whose proposals
did not meet the minimum qualifying mark or were considered
non-responsive to the terms of reference, and their
financial proposals will be returned unopened after
completing the selection process. Simultaneously, those
Consultants who have secured the minimum qualifying marks
shall be informed about the date and time for opening the
financial proposals, giving sufficient time for the
Consultants to be present at the opening should they so
desire.
12. Financial
Evaluation
The financial proposals of the pre-qualified Consultants
will be opened publicly. The proposed prices shall be read
aloud and recorded in a minute of the public opening.
The Secretary will cause a review of the financial
proposals to be done. Arithmetical errors will be corrected.
The cost will be converted to a single currency using
uniform selling (exchange) rates.
The proposal with lowest cost will be given a financial
score of 100 and other proposals given financial scores that
are inversely proportional to their prices.
13. Evaluation of financial and technical
scores
The total score shall be obtained by weighting the
technical and financial scores and adding them. the weight
for the financial score shall be as prescribed by the
Commission in each case taking into account the complexity
of the assignment and the relative importance of quality.
However, the weight will never exceed 0.3 for the financial
score in any case.
The Commission may appoint a negotiating committee to
enter into both technical and financial negotiations. Where
technical negotiations are conducted they will be completed
prior to pre-qualification of the Consultants. Financial
negotiations can be entered into for any aspect of the
financial proposal including the unit rates for staff
months, contingency amounts, lump sum reimbursement of
travel and living expenses and payment terms.
The Commission may reject all proposals if they are
found to be unresponsive or unsuitable either because they
represent major deficiencies in complying with the TOR or
they involve cost substantively higher than the original
estimate.
14. Single source
selection
Single source selection may be
used in exceptional cases where it is appropriate, and
represents a clear advantage because the tasks represent a
natural continuation of previous work carried out by the
Consultant, or where a rapid selection is essential, or for
small assignments where the fee payable does not exceed Rs.5
lakhs in each case or where only one firm is qualified or has
experience for the assignment.
15. Selection of individual
Consultants
Individual Consultants will be employed for assignments
for which teams of personnel are not required, no additional
outside (home office) professional support is required, and
where the experience and qualifications of the individual
are the paramount requirement.
Individual Consultants will be selected on the basis of
their qualifications for the assignment. They may be
selected on the basis of references or through comparison of
qualifications among those expressing interest in the
assignment or approached directly by the Commission.
Capability will be judged on the basis of academic
background, experience and, as appropriate, knowledge of
local conditions, administrative system and government
organization.
16. Conflict of
interest
Consultants shall not be hired for
any assignment that would be in conflict with their prior or
current obligations to other clients or that may place them in
a position of not being able to carry out the assignments
objectively and impartially.
17.
Saving of inherent power of the Commission
Nothing in these provisions shall bar the
Commission from adopting a procedure which is at variance with
any of the provisions of these Regulations, if the Commission,
in view of the special circumstances of the matter or class of
matters and for reasons to be recorded in writing, deems it
necessary or expedient to depart from the procedure prescribed
in the regulations.
18. General
power to amend
The Commission may at any
time and on such terms as it may think fit amend any
provisions of these Regulations for the purpose of meeting the
objectives with which these Regulations have been framed.
19. Power to remove
difficulties
If any difficulty arises in
giving effect to any of the provisions of these Regulations
the Commission may, by general or special order, do anything
not being inconsistent with the provisions of the Act which
appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of
removing the difficulties.
