Ft. Bliss Microgrid AE Services

Background: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District (USACE) is pursuing an out-of-scope modification to Contract No. W912QR23C0027. The contract was competitively solicited and awarded as a firm-fixed price, stand-alone C-contract for Architect-Engineering (AE) services for Four Microgrid Projects at Fort Bliss, TX. The current contract holder, Black & Veatch (B&V), has completed 95% designs for two of the four projects and 35% designs for the remaining two projects. Their contract includes two options (Option 2 and Option 5) to complete the designs of these final two projects; however, the periods of availability for these two options have expired.

Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Pursuant to subsection (iii) for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in- (A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; or (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

Justification: In 2023, after a full and open competition, B&V was determined to be the most-qualified firm to complete these designs. The specialized knowledge they have gained and successful performance over the past 20 months on these projects, which is not shared by any other design firm, has made them significantly more qualified than they were in 2023 to bring their own 35% designs to completion.

Allowing B&V to complete Options 2 and 5 within the current contract framework as requested by a J&A would allow the government to retain the services of the most highly qualified AE firm in the fastest and most cost-effective manner possible. If the J&A is not approved, the Government would be forced to reprocure the completion of the remaining two designs, causing a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

If B&V is unable to complete the scope of Options 2 and 5 as part of this contract, the subsequent reprocurement effort, and potential learning curve if a different firm were procured, would delay the designs by up to one year. Additionally, allowing a different firm to complete the scope of Options 2 and 5 as part of a new task order would require both a reprocurement effort and the duplication of AE effort, substantially increasing the cost to the Government.

Since the remaining work is “for the continued provision of highly specialized services” for which B&V was the original source, and it is likely that award to any other source would result in “substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition” as well as “unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements”, the remaining design work for these projects is available only from Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp, in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii).

Note: This is not a solicitation for competitive proposals; however, if any interested party believes that they can meet the above requirement, they may submit a capability statement to the point of contact listed in this Special Notice. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow USACE to be able to determine if the interested party can perform the requirement described herein. Email responses or questions to at Kari Rogers at Kari.A.Rogers@usace.army.mil. The Response to this source sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions.