Sources Sought: Areawide Load Bank and Fuel Quality Testing of emergency generators

Sources Sought: Annual load bank and fuel quality testing and inspection of emergency generators at fourteen IHS health care facilities in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Sources Sought Notice Number: IHS-SS-26-1523962

This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation or commitment by the Indian Health Service.

This notice is intended strictly for market research to determine the availability of Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) Businesses.

Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. The anticipated applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 541380, Testing Laboratories and Services- other relevant NAICS codes will be considered based on responses received.

1. BACKGROUND

The Indian Health Service (IHS) requires annual load bank testing and fuel quality testing of the Emergency Power Supply Systems (EPSS) at various facilities in the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service, which includes locations in North Dakota and South Dakota.

2.0       OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this project is to Perform an annual load bank and fuel quality test of the emergency generators located at selected Great Plains Area facilities. (North Dakota and South Dakota).  The code requirements are deemed essential for achieving the minimum level of reliability and performance, especially when life safety electrical power needs are concerned.

Location

This service is to be provided at multiple locations: Belcourt & Ft. Yates, North Dakota, Eagle Butte, Ft. Thompson, Kyle, Lower Brule, McLaughlin, Mobridge, Pine Ridge, Rapid City, Rosebud, Sisseton, Wagner & Wanblee, South Dakota.

1.       SCOPE

CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS AND PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks:

Perform an annual load bank and fuel quality test of the emergency generators located at selected Great Plains Area facilities.   

The contractor shall provide all material, labor, equipment and supervision required to accomplish the following:

1. 1. Load Bank Test.
      1. Pre-startup inspection.
      2. Generator startup.
      3. Load transfer (Annual).
      4. Load Transfer (3-Year/4-Hour).
      5. Post-test procedure.
   2. Fuel Quality Test.
      1. Obtain an individual fuel sample from each generator fuel tank.
         1. Perform fuel quality tests on each sample using appropriate ASTM standards.
   3. Additional Facility Requirements.
      1. The contractor shall comply with the requirements of the hospital’s Facility Manager and clean up after themselves, including any tools and equipment needed to complete the testing.

1. TYPE OF ORDER

This is a firm fixed price purchase order.

1. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Base Period of Performance: date of award to 12/31/2026.

Option Year One: 01/01/2027 to 12/31/2027.

Option Year Two: 01/01/2028 to 12/31/2028.

Option Year Three: 01/01/2029 to 12/31/2029.

Option Year Four: 01/01/2030 to 12/31/2030.

1. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

A.        Place of Performance/Hours of Operation

1. 1. Sites to receive service are Belcourt & Ft. Yates, ND, Eagle Butte, Ft. Thompson, Kyle, Lower Brule, McLaughlin, Mobridge, Pine Ridge, Rapid City, Rosebud, Sisseton, Wagner & Wanblee, SD.

1. 1. Inspection and testing shall be completed between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, M-F, unless otherwise approved by the Project Officer.  No testing and maintenance shall be performed on a national holiday unless approved by the Project Officer.

1. REPORT(S)/DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

DELIVERABLE

DELIVERABLE DESCRIPTION / FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

DUE DATE

Load Bank and fuel quality testing of emergency generators

Inspections to be completed at the facilities listed above after schedule is determined by the contractor and project officer. The contractor shall notify each Facility Manager a minimum of 72 hours before performing a service.

60 days after schedule approved by COR

Record of Inspection and Testing

Following the completion of the annual inspections, reports shall be completed for each facility.  All testing data shall be recorded on an applicable “RECORD OF INSPECTION AND TESTING” forms or another form approved by the Project Officer.

20 workdays after completion of last testing

1. PAYMENT

The Government will pay the Contractor a fixed price in arrears, which will constitute full compensation for all Contractor professional and incidental services, travel expenses, and materials necessary to furnish the complete project as required and specified in the SOW.

Invoicing under any resultant order shall be processed through the Invoice Payment Platform (IPP), located at www.ipp.gov.

IPP is a secure, web-based electronic invoicing system provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRSTL). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-15-19 Memorandum "Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars Through Electronic Invoicing" directs Federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing as the primary means to disburse payment to vendors.

If your organization is not currently utilizing IPP, following award of an order, your organization will be automatically enrolled by IHS. Your company's IPP POC will be determined by the information listed in your SAM.gov account, and will receive two e-mails from the Bureau of Fiscal Service, one with a username and one with a temporary password. Please ensure your SAM.gov information is up to date.

If you are currently enrolled in IPP, either from a previous award with IHS or another Federal Agency utilizing IPP- you may use your existing IPP credentials for this order.

If you require assistance registering or IPP account access, please contact the IPP Helpdesk at (866) 973-3131 (M-F 8AM to 6PM ET), or IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov

Additional Information: Contractor personnel performing the testing/inspections shall possess appropriate credentials from a certifying organization, such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 101, 99, 70, 110), Emergency Generator Service Association (EGSA), Licensed Electrician (Master or Journeyman), and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Supporting documentation for credentials shall be submitted with the bid proposal.

Failed component replacement and repairs will not be included within the contractor’s responsibilities unless the failure of components is the result of the contractor’s activities.

9.0       Capability Statement/Information:

Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize themselves with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm’s own risk. The following information shall be included in the capability statement:

1. A general overview of the respondent’s opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement, and any information regarding innovative ideas or concepts.

2. Information in sufficient detail of the respondent’s (a) current capability and capacity to perform the work; (b) prior completed projects of similar nature/size; (c) any relevant past performance ratings for similar projects within the last three years.

3. The respondents’ SAM UEI number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., ISBEE/IEE, 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) Pursuant to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: 541380, Testing Laboratories and Services, or comparable NAICS.

5. Any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the requirements of the potential acquisition.

6. The capability statement shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), with 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper size, and 1 inch top, bottom, left and right margins.

7. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by IHS personnel and will be held in a confidential manner.

10.0   Closing Statement

Point of Contact: Erin Doering, Contract Specialist, at Erin.Doering@ihs.gov  

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability via email to Erin Doering at Erin.Doering@ihs.gov . Must include Sources Sought Number IHS-SS-26-1523962 in the Subject line. The due date for receipt of statements is April 3, 2026, 4:00 p.m. Central Time.

All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of IHS.

IHS does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, IHS may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ).

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against IHS shall arise as a result of a response to this notice or IHS’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.