Terms of Use

Last Modified: 01-19-2023

Intention of Use 

The purpose of this document is to provide the Terms of Use of the Innovative Energy Solutions (“IES”) Program for website visitors and any parties submitting a Phase 1 application (“Participants”)ⁱ, whether submitting projects individually or in partnership with an Electric Distribution Company (“EDC”). This contract governs the Terms of Use for the program’s website (www.CT-IES.com).  

Participants who are approved to move into the Phase 3 deployment stage of the IES Program will be required to sign an additional agreement before project deployment, indicating whether their projects will be deployed independently of, or in collaboration with the EDCs, and dictating terms for cost recovery. 

Acceptance of the Terms of Use 

These Terms of Use are entered into by and between You and Strategen Consulting, the Program Administrator on behalf of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (“Company,” “We,” or “us”).  The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, “Terms of Use”), govern your access to and use of the website at CT-IES.com.  

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy policy, found at CT-IES.com, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website. 

By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements identified on CT-IES.com.  If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use this Website.  

Participant Eligibility 

At a minimum, participants shall demonstrate the following: 

• Licensed to do business in the State of Connecticut or provide a commitment that it will become licensed in Connecticut within thirty (30) calendar days of being selected as an apparently successful contractor. 
• Experience or applicable knowledge implementing similar offerings as those proposed in the response to the IES Program. 

Project Eligibility 

Eligible participants shall submit projects or ideas that comply with the following project eligibility criteria: 

• Customer benefit and protection. IES Program projects must demonstrate a reasonable prospect of providing clear benefits to consumers, whether through long-term economic efficiencies, improvement in cost performance, enhancements to service, or other forms of benefits. Projects must also demonstrate that there are sufficient safeguards in place to provide consumers with a reasonable degree of protection during the trial. For instance,  
• Relevance. The project must relate to the delivery of electricity services in Connecticut. 
• Innovation. The project must involve testing a new product, program, tariff, service, or business model that is not widely used in Connecticut and is conducive to scaling, replication, or serving as a potential model for others to adopt or deploy. 
• Readiness. The Participant must demonstrate their preparation and readiness for testing their innovation in a live environment. Testing plans must be well developed and have clear objectives and measures. The tools and resources required to enable pilot testing must be in place. 
• True regulatory barrier (to access temporary exemption). For projects seeking temporary relief from a regulatory requirement, Participant must articulate the regulatory requirement(s) that may be at issue for the project moving forward, and propose specific modifications to the requirement(s) that would allow the project to move forward. 

Name and Logo Use 

Unless authorized in writing by Owner or except as required by applicable law, the parties shall not engage in any advertising, publicity or other promotional activity which directly or indirectly mentions or refers to the relationship between the parties or the work furnished under this agreement. 

Changes to the Terms of Use 

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page from time to time so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding to you. 

Accessing the Website and Account Security 

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to any or all users. 

You are responsible for (1) your ability to access the Website, and (2) ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet or mobile connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them. 

You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy. 

Intellectual Property Rights 

The Website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by the Company, its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. 

You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows: 

• Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials. 
• You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes. 
• You may download the Phase 1 application PowerPoint template and upload a completed version, as described in the Phase 1 application. 
• You may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution. 
• If we provide social media features with certain content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features. 

You must not: 

• Modify copies of any materials from this site. 
• Access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website. 
• Delete or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this site. 

You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website. 

If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.  No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark and other laws. 

Trademarks 

The Company name, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans are trademarks of the Company or its affiliates or licensors. You must not use such marks without the prior written permission of the Company.  All other names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans on this Website, if any, are the trademarks of their respective owners. 

Use of Site and Materials; Unauthorized Alterations 

The information, application forms, and other materials contained on this website, individually and collectively, are provided for informational purposes.  You can download and reproduce copies of the information, application forms, and other materials; however, downloading and reproduction of such information, application forms, and other materials is permissible only If downloading and reproduction is without alteration of the content.  The unauthorized alteration of application forms is expressly prohibited.  Application forms that are altered in any way, other than filling in the blanks with the information requested, may result in us considering such form as null and void.   

User Contributions 

The Website may display project ideas that are selected at the sole discretion of Company, which are uploaded with the consent of the individual making the submission, (collectively, “User Contributions“) on or through the Website. 

All User Contributions must comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use. 

By submitting a project idea through the interfaces provided on the Website, you consent for us to display such project idea on the site. Such submissions will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, with the exception of submitted information you clearly mark as confidential, as described further below. The completed PowerPoint template you submit as part of the Phase 1 application may be published on the website at a later date, and any confidential or proprietary information, such as specific project costs, personal contact information, or other information you mark as confidential will be redacted from any public-facing materials. By providing any User Contribution on the Website, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose. 

You represent and warrant that: 

• You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our service providers, and each of our and their respective licensees, successors, and assigns. 

• All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use. 

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not the Company, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness. 

We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website. 

Confidentiality 

The Authority recognizes that a respondent may wish to include information in its response to this RFP that the respondent considers proprietary, a trade secret, or confidential to the respondent. If any response or information (initial or supplemental) provided to the Authority in connection with this RFP includes information considered proprietary, a trade secret or confidential, please identify such information by clearly marking “CONFIDENTIAL” on both the top and bottom of each page that contains such information. The Authority will deem any such designated information as confidential with the express understanding that, subject to any legally mandated disclosure requirements, such designated information will be held in confidence and will not be disclosed or used for any purpose other than the review and evaluation of the applicable response to this RFP.  

Please note that, as a public agency, PURA is subject to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act. 

Disclaimer of Warranty 

Information contained on this web site is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind. In particular, we make no warranties or representations, expressed or implied, as to the fitness for a particular purpose or merchantability of any product, apparatus, downloaded computer software product, service, or the usefulness, completeness, or accuracy of any processes, methods, downloaded computer software product, or other information contained, described, disclosed, or referred to herein. We make no representation that the use of any product, apparatus, process, method, downloaded computer software product, or other information will not infringe privately owned rights. 

Limitation on Liability 

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. 

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.