Redacted Justification Exception to Fair Opportunity 2023 09 22.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

National Deep Energy Retrofit Program (NDER) Round 5, Energy Savings Performance

Contract (ESPC) at Multiple Locations in Louisiana and Texas

(FAR 16.505)

1. Identification of Agency, Contracting Office, and Document being approved:

Procurement Office: General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service (PBS), Greater Southwest Region 7 (R7), Energy and Acquisition Support Branch (7PQD)

Description of Requirement: National Outdoor Ventilation Air (NOVA), Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act at Terminal Annex and Earle Cabell Federal Buildings (FBs), Dallas, Texas

Contractor/ESCO: Ameresco, Inc. (UEI: DKL8RJPGE4R3)

Contract No./Task Order No.: Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery (IDIQ) Contract No.

DE-EE008027/47PH1123F0001

Modification PS0006 Estimated Dollar Value: $3,120,161.00 (BA54 Funds)

2. Description of Action being Approved:

The NDER 5 ESPC Louisiana (LA) and Texas (TX) Task Order No. 47PH1123F0001, issued under Department of Energy (DOE) ESPC Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery (IDIQ)

Contract No. DE-EE008027, was awarded on December 15, 2022 to Ameresco, Inc.

(hereinafter referred to as Energy Services Company (ESCO)) to Implement Energy

Conservation Measures (ECMs) at various locations in LA-TX (see Table 1 below). The total task order value is $43,519,374.00. Budget Activity 54 (BA54) funds are obligated in the amount of $13,117,013.00. NOVA CARES Act Modification PS0006 has a total estimated cost of $3,120,161.00.

This Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity is issued to implement NOVA CARES

Act (ECM 17 - Retro-Commissioning) at two buildings (see Table 1 below). ECM 17 -

Retro-Commissioning implementation, under Modification PS0006, will provide improvements to building automation systems (BAS) and mechanical systems.

The determination was made to procure the improvements as a modification to the NDER 5

ESPC Task Order No. 47PH1123F0001 instead of awarding a new task order, as explained in

Sections 5 and 6 below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the ESCO�s DOE IDIQ and

GSA/PBS/R7�s Task Order, the ESCO will provide NOVA CARES Act improvements at the buildings highlighted in Table 1 below.

Justification for An Exception to Fair Opportunity

R7 NDER 5 ESPC, LA and TX

Table 1: NDER 5 Energy Conservation Measure Building and Locations

GSA Building No. Building Name City State

LA0000BT

Baton Rouge Federal Building/Courthouse Baton Rouge LA

LA0033ZZ New Orleans Custom House New Orleans LA

LA0034ZZ F. Edward Hebert Federal Building New Orleans LA

LA0035ZZ

John Minor Wisdom US Court of

Appeals Building New Orleans LA

LA0070ZZ

Allen J. Ellender Federal Building and

U.S. Post Office Houma LA

LA0085ZZ

Hale Boggs Federal Building and US

Courthouse (E4) New Orleans LA

LA0099ZZ John M Shaw United States Courthouse Lafayette LA

*TX0284DA Earle Cabell Federal Building Dallas TX

*TX0057ZZ Terminal Annex Federal Building Dallas TX

TX0210ZZ Paul Brown United States Courthouse Sherman TX

TX0302ZZ The Centre Phase 5 Farmers Branch TX *NOVA CARES Act

3. Description of Supplies or Services Required:

The ESCO was provided NOVA CARES Act scopes of work for the Earle Cabell and

Terminal Annex FBs during the Investment Grade Audit (IGA) development for the project.

The scopes encompass enhancements and improvements to building ventilation systems within Earle Cabell and Terminal Annex FBs. NOVA pertains to building ventilation and air quality that involves introducing outdoor air into the indoor environment to dilute and remove indoor air pollutants, thereby ensuring a healthier indoor atmosphere. Adequate ventilation and access to fresh outdoor air are crucial factors in maintaining good indoor air quality, especially in the context of reducing the transmission of airborne viruses like

COVID-19.

The ESCO performed a detailed engineering audit of the Air Handler Units (AHUs) throughout the Earle Cabell and Terminal Annex FBs and determined improvements were needed. Due to the age of the buildings, infiltration is extreme throughout the buildings and is off setting the ability to balance the air flow. For example, during the inspection, when the outside air dampers were opened 10-20%, the AHU equipment was not able to maintain building temperatures. The improvements include hardware and software replacement, and integration of the existing equipment controllers for 47 AHUs, and associated actuators and sensors at the Earle Cabell FB and 15 AHUs (including the FBI isolated building level network and controllers), and associated actuators and sensors, at the Terminal Annex FB to

(BACnet/Niagara N4 Capable, edge 10 equivalent controllers) include all required supporting adjustments (graphical, logical, physical), configuration, devices, enclosures, material, modifications, programming, software, third party software tools, trade labor, other items and non-personal services required to perform required tasks to meet GSA IT Security and Smart Building(s) standards and specifications.

In October 2022, the ESCO submitted recommendations as options in the project with the intent to modify the proposed items into the task order should funding become available.

CARES Act funding became available after the task order was awarded on December 15, 2022. Therefore, the work was not included in the task order. The recommended improvements were identified under ECM 17 - Retro-Commissioning, which included installing new controllers, actuators, programming, and integration into Niagara, along with necessary commissioning, test and balance activities. Other related work is included in the task order award (BAS Improvements, and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

(HVAC)) with Ameresco performing work in both buildings. Since much of the work requires using the same construction trades, cost savings will occur by incorporating the

NOVA CARES Act work into the project as mobilization, logistical and administrative costs can be avoided.

The CARES Act was a significant piece of legislation passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law on March 27, 2020. The Act allocated approximately $2.2 trillion to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and help individuals and businesses through challenging circumstances brought on by the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present a public health challenge, necessitating an unwavering commitment to protecting the workforce. Addressing NOVA enhancements and building ventilation improvements directly aligns with GSA�s mission to ensure the health and safety of its employees and visitors. While the CARES Act did not directly address NOVA or ventilation related issues, some of the funding provided by the Act could be used to improve building ventilation systems and air quality as part of broader COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Subsequently, CARES Act will fund Modification PS0006 using BA54 funds.

Table 2: ECMs to be Funded under Modification PS0006

ECM No. - Description Building Name Implementation Price

ANX 17 - Retro-Commissioning (CARES) Terminal Annex FB $588,511.00

CAB 17 - Retro-Commissioning (CARES) Cabell FB $2,531,650.00

TOTAL $3,120,161.00

4. Identification of Statutory Authority:

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) permits an exception to fair opportunity, which states the order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the task order, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order as stated below in

Section 6. On 02/11/21, a Notice of Opportunity (NOO) was sent to the DOE ESPC IDIQ holders and the ESCO was selected to conduct the IGA. Thus, fair opportunity was provided.

5. Demonstration of Contractor�s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition

Requires use of the Authority Cited:

This requirement is to implement NOVA CARES Act improvements at Earle Cabell and

Terminal Annex FBs. Failure to modify NDER 5 ESPC Task Order No. 47PH1123F0001 and fund the ECMs (see Table 2 above) included in the IGA will jeopardize the agency�s energy reduction objectives.

The ESCO conducted the Preliminary Assessment (PA) and developed the IGA up to 100% submittal. This work included numerous site visits, building drawing reviews, weekly project meetings, review and analysis of multiple years of utility billing, multiple conversations and correspondence with utility companies regarding utility incentives and rebates, multiple walkthroughs, pricing development with specific contractors for the various

ECMs (i.e., BAS contractors, lighting contractors, mechanical contractors, etc.), and multiple reporting requirements (along with the administrative work that entails) throughout the IGA development process. The ESCO is the only contractor with the full knowledge of the requirement considering this �new requirement� is connected to the task order requirement.

Additionally, it is impractical to bring on another contractor and have two ESCOs in the buildings at the same time.

In order to recreate all of the previously accomplished steps, the Government would incur delays and costs that cannot be alleviated by competition for this same requirement. Unless

GSA/PBS/R7 modifies the NDER 5 ESPC Task Order No. 47PH1123F0001 to fund the additional ECMs, a different ESCO would have to start from scratch (conduct site visits, investigations, etc.) to recreate all of the required tasks already completed by the ESCO.

The NOVA deficiency corrections will also increase energy consumption overall in the buildings listed. By procuring them as part of the NDER 5 ESPC, this will illustrate the project to have an overall energy savings and reduction of energy use intensity (EUI). If these NOVA deficiencies are completed independently as a stand-alone project the project would increase energy consumption and EUI.

By awarding implementation of NOVA CARES Act, GSA/PBS/R7 will also prevent additional disruption to building operations and the building customers as construction scheduling can be planned to continue all of the construction items in one schedule rather than a different contractor performing the work at a separate time.

In addition to those facts, current market conditions have seen an upward trend in interest rates, construction costs and inflation, resulting in higher costs. Additionally, the BA54 funded ECMs must be awarded this fiscal year. If the ECMs are not funded prior to the end of fiscal year 2023, they will have to be awarded under a different procurement vehicle other than the NDER 5 ESPC. Ultimately, due to a longer lead time, there is insufficient time to compete NOVA CARES Act.

Based on the advantages outlined above, awarding NOVA CARES Act to the ESCO is prudent for GSA to pursue. In summary, should the requirement be re-solicited and a different ESCO is selected, the Government would incur delays and additional costs to pay for work already completed. Therefore, awarding Modification PS0006 to implement NOVA CARES Act has been determined to be in the Government�s best interest, as explained herein Section 5 and below in Section 6.

6. Description of Efforts to Solicit as many Offers as Practicable:

Only the ESCO will be solicited for the NOVA CARES Act implementation.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. In accordance with the

Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) pricing guidelines and FAR 15.404-1(b), the following sources of information will be used to evaluate the ESCO�s Price Proposal -

Volume 2: subcontractor bid competition, benchmark information compiled by the Project

Facilitator (PF) from the DOE database of historical ECM pricing on ESPCs, and IGE prepared by an outside party, reviewed and accepted by GSA. ESCO pricing will be analyzed by GSA Office of Facilities Management�s (OFM) ESPC Program Manager and

Contracting Officer, FEDITC Project Facilitators, and GSA/PBS/R7 Contracting Officer.

Various price, cost, and technical analysis techniques are applied to the ECMs, performance period services, and financing costs offered by the ESCO. ECM and service prices are considered both on an individual and combined basis representing a complete analysis supporting the determination that the total price is fair and reasonable. The requirement for certified cost and pricing data is waived by statute 10.CFR § 436.33 - Procedures and methods for contractor selection.

8. Description of Market Research Conducted:

N/A

9. Other Facts Supporting the Justification:

N/A

10. List of Sources that Expressed an Interest in the Acquisition:

N/A

11. Statement of Actions to Overcome Barriers of Competition:

N/A

12. The Contracting Officer certifies by the signature below that the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of her knowledge and belief.

Upon the basis of the foregoing findings, I hereby determine that for the need of the above cited services required, there is only one source available. In accordance with FAR

16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), the Contracting Officer need not submit the notice when there is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

National Deep Energy Retrofit Program (NDER) Round 5, Energy Savings Performance

Contract (ESPC) at Multiple Locations in Louisiana and Texas

13. The Contracting Officer and the responsible technical or requirements representative certifies by signature below that the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

Craig Shellerud Date

Technical/Requirements Representative

Terri Marshall Date

Contracting Officer

14. Reviewed by:

Angelina Calloway Date

Legal Counsel

Teresa Thompson Date

Chief, Energy and Acquisition Support

Carolyn Smith Date

Director, Acquisition Management Division

I, the approving authority, determine that the circumstances identified in this document are accurate; therefore, only one responsible source under FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) is justified.

The signature below also represents approval of this Limited Sources Justification.

Charlie Hart Date

Competition Advocate