Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide fuel advisory services as a fiduciary of the authority with respects to all financial aspects of fuel, and fuel futures purchases (or any other risk management instrument). The primary focus of these services will be to advise RIPTA on risk management strategies related to fuel costs. The selected proposer will assist RIPTA in managing its fuel hedging program through strategy development, execution, and ongoing analysis and performance monitoring. The Authority currently purchases 2.3 million gallons of diesel fuel annually and less than 42,000 gallons of gasoline. To date the Authority has used price locks to increase budget certainty and reduce exposure to market volatility. These contracts were obtained through RIPTA’s fuel supplier and varied in length, but typically ranged between 12 and 24 months. The Authority is currently purchasing fuel at spot prices after the expiration of low-cost contracts signed early in the COVID-19 pandemic. A more detailed outlook on fuel purchases has been provided as part of this RFP to outline the expected fluctuations in purchases as the Authority works on electrifying its fleet and incorporating low or no emission vehicles.
