(1) The provisions of this section apply to any RFP issued to fill a resource need. The commission strongly encourages a utility to consult with commission staff and other interested stakeholders during the development of an RFP and the associated evaluation rubric.

(2) A utility must conduct outreach to potential bidders or resource suppliers, including nonprofit organizations and under-represented bidders such as minority-, women-, disabled-, and veteran-owned businesses, to encourage equitable participation in the bidding process. A utility must provide to all potential bidders equitable access to information relevant to responding to the utility's RFP including, but not limited to, accommodation required by the Americans with Disabilities Act's communications guidance.

(3) A utility must post a copy of the RFP on the utility's public website and make best efforts to ensure the RFP is known to industry participants and potential bidders, such as by placing notices in relevant industry publications, including publications aimed at women-, minority-, disabled-, and veteran-owned businesses.

(4) The utility must publish on its public website information about how interested persons can participate in or follow the utility's RFP process, including RFP approval, if required, and how to contact the commission's records center to be placed on relevant distribution lists for utility RFPs.

(5) Prior to the expiration of the solicitation period specified in the RFP, the utility may allow the bid contents to be available to its employees and the independent evaluator, within the limitations established in WAC 480-107-024(3). Such availability must be solely for the purpose of tracking the receipt of bids and to prepare for, but not to begin, the evaluation phase of the RFP process.

(6) A utility or its subsidiary or affiliate may participate in the utility's own RFP process as a bidder consistent with the requirements in WAC 480-107-023 and 480-107-024.

(7) If demand response may meet some or all of the identified resource need, the utility must make a good faith effort to provide sufficiently detailed information that allows a bidder the opportunity to develop a demand response bid that includes, but is not limited to, stacked values of benefits and costs.