Notification to the Industry on Draft Traction Power Request for Proposals

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) invites interested industry participants to submit comments and feedback on a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the upcoming Traction Power, Solar Photovoltaic, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (Traction Power) procurement. The Authority anticipates delivering this project, utilizing a progressive design build method. This industry review does not constitute a solicitation document, nor does it represent a commitment to issue any type of solicitation or enter into any contract or agreement related to the high-speed rail program in the future.
We anticipate that the industry review period will take place from August 1 through August 12, 2024, with Industry one-on-one meetings held thereafter through August 22. During the review, draft documents will be available to firms only on Cal eProcure. If you choose to provide comments, you will be able to do so through the comment function in Microsoft Word. Each comment should be individually numbered. All comments are due August 12, at 12:00 PM PDT and shall be sent in an email directed to Rachael Wong at contact@example.gov. Comments will be reviewed and are appreciated, though the Authority has no obligation to respond to individual comments.
Immediately thereafter, the Authority anticipates conducting industry one-on-one meetings with firms that identify themselves as a potential prime contractor or joint venture partner. Firms who would like such a meeting and anticipate participating in this procurement should state their interest in a separate email, also due by August 12, at 12:00 PM PDT, directed to Rachael Wong at contact@example.gov. Such emails should include the following,
- the firm name; - whether they anticipate participating as a prime or a joint venture partner; and, - if participating as a joint venture partner, whether any other joint venture partners should be included in         this meeting.
The Authority does not guarantee that it will have meetings with all firms and such meetings will be at the discretion of the Authority. Meetings will be either virtual or in-person, to be decided after we gauge the volume of interested firms. Only firms that provide comments will be eligible for one-on-one meetings. If a firm wants a one-on-one meeting regarding other upcoming procurements, please note that the process to do so is separate and distinct from the meeting process involved with this procurement. Any communications related to future procurements will be provided publicly for the benefit of all potential participants. 
The Authority anticipates the following schedule for release of the Traction Power procurement:
            RFP Release:                Fall 2024             Proposal Due Date:       Late Winter 2025             Contractor Selected:      Summer 2025
Please be advised that all comments submitted, and any accompanying materials, will become property of the Authority and are subject to open government laws such as the California Public Records Act, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If a submitting party has special concerns about information that it desires to make available to the Authority, but which it believes constitutes a trade secret, proprietary information, or other information exempt from disclosure, such submitting party should specifically and conspicuously designate that information as "TRADE SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" in its submittal. Blanket, all-inclusive identifications by designation of whole pages or sections as containing proprietary information, trade secrets, or confidential commercial or financial information will be deemed invalid. The specific proprietary information, trade secrets, or confidential commercial and financial information must be clearly identified as such. Under no circumstances, however, will the Authority be liable for the disclosure of all or a portion of the information submitted in response to this invitation for comment, including the disclosure of any such labeled materials.
Any questions regarding this notice should be directed to Rachael Wong at contact@example.gov or +1 (555) 000-0000.