Questions and Answers Supply Side Mgmt.pdf

Questions and Answers - 47PH5326R0018 Supply Side Energy Advisory and Management Services

1. Can you advise if there were/are incumbent provider(s) for these services? If Yes – Who is/are the incumbent(s), and can you provide a previous contract number?

a. The previous contract was 47PA0120C0012 with Enel X North America, Inc.

2. If there is an incumbent, is there a reason the known incumbent may be precluded from bidding on this new or existing requirement?

a. No.

3. FedRAMP Requirement, Market Competition, and Availability of Alternative Platforms: A review of the FedRAMP Marketplace as of August 4, 2026, identified only one publicly listed FedRAMP Certified cloud service offering whose service description expressly includes conducting online reverse auctions for electricity and natural-gas procurement:

the Enel X North America Exchange Platform, Package ID FR2014363920. The Marketplace identifies this platform as FedRAMP Certified at Class B (Low), through the Agency authorization path, with one authorization. Given this apparent limitation in the presently authorized marketplace, can GSA | PBS please explain how GSA determined that the solicitation’s FedRAMP and GSA Authority-to-Operate requirements permit meaningful competition among multiple independent offerors rather than effectively requiring access to a single vendor’s proprietary platform.

a. The incumbent contractor hosts their reverse auction platform on their own platform, but there are other cloud computing service providers that may be utilized which are FEDRamp certified. The FEDRamp certification is a requirement for any vendor offering cloud computing services to the Government.

4. FAR 11.105 and GSA Market Research Platform Determinations: If GSA’s market research determined that only one platform can presently meet the required FedRAMP, ATO, and energy reverse-auction criteria, please explain the acquisition strategy, competitive basis, and applicable justification supporting inclusion of a requirement that may be peculiar to one vendor or product. Why This Is Critical: FAR 6.101 generally requires contracting officers to promote and provide for full and open competition. FAR

11.105 also provides that requirements should not specify a product or product feature peculiar to one manufacturer when doing so precludes consideration of other companies, unless the feature is essential, market research establishes that alternatives cannot meet the agency’s needs, and the required justification and approval are completed.

a. We have spoken with a number of companies that offer similar services on platforms that are FEDRamp certified. There are a number of well known cloud computing services that are FEDRamp approved. The contractor could utilize their reverse auction platform and host it on another cloud computing platform that is FEDRamp approved.

5. Market Competition, and Availability of Alternative Reverse Auction Platforms: Will The GSA | PBS will accept a functionally equivalent platform that satisfies the applicable security controls, CUI protections, Section 508 requirements, Government-access requirements, audit-trail requirements, and records-management requirements but is not currently listed in the FedRAMP Marketplace as an energy reverse-auction platform.

a. Yes, but the reverse auction platform would need to be FEDRamp approved by December 31, 2026. It is up to the awarded contractor if they want to go through the FEDRamp certification for their platform or if they want to use an approved cloud computing service.

6. Evaluation Credit for Teaming-Partner Capabilities: Will GSA permit an offeror to satisfy the solicitation’s minimum corporate experience, past-performance, auction-volume, reverse-auction platform, FedRAMP/ATO, nationwide market-coverage, and personnel requirements through the combined qualifications of the prime contractor and its proposed subcontractors or Contractor Team Arrangement members? Why this matters:

The answer determines the allowable team structure, workshare allocation, proposal organization, and whether a specialized energy-platform company may provide the majority of the technical energy functions.

a. Yes.

7. FedRAMP and GSA Authority-to-Operate Requirements: What specific FedRAMP authorization status and GSA Authority to Operate must the reverse-auction platform possess at proposal submission, contract award, transition commencement, and December 31, 2026? Why this matters: Platform authorization status affects technical acceptability, implementation timing, cybersecurity staffing, hosting costs, transition risk, and overall pricing.

a. FedRAMP and GSA Authority to Operate approval is required by 12/31/2026.

8. Supplier Neutrality and Organizational Conflict of Interest: How does GSA define “supplier neutrality,” and what ownership interests, affiliate relationships, referral arrangements, brokerage activities, commissions, or other commercial relationships would create an actual or potential Organizational Conflict of Interest? Why this matters:

The contractor will advise GSA, structure procurements, qualify suppliers, administer auctions, analyze results, and support award decisions. The proposed team must understand exactly which relationships are permissible.

a. The contractor cannot have financial ties or receive financial benefits from suppliers. The concern would be if the contractor had a financial relationship with a supplier that could influence the advisory services or the award of contracts or give the appearance of favoritism. The contractor may have professional relationships with suppliers that would aid in the transition of accounts to new suppliers or aid in the resolution of issues.

9. Qualification and Past-Performance Thresholds: Please confirm precisely how GSA will measure the required electricity and natural-gas auction volumes, number of auctions, Government project experience, and past-performance relevance. The solicitation identifies nationwide experience, three relevant Government projects, qualifying online-auction awards, and substantial electricity or natural-gas volumes as key qualifications.

a. The contractor will need to provide documentation showing the natural gas and electricity volumes awarded per year, the volumes awarded per auction, the number of auctions held per year, and identify the clients the contractor works with. The Government projects/experience can be local, state, or federal. GSA has locations and clients across the country, so it is important for the contractor to show that they have experience in markets across the country. Each area has different requirements, so it is important for the contractor to have broad experience.

10.Anticipated Procurement and Auction Workload: What is GSA’s anticipated annual workload for electricity and natural-gas procurements, reverse auctions, re-procurements, amendments, supplier conferences, account transitions, and resulting supply awards during each contract year? Why this matters: Procurement volume drives the number of market analysts, auction administrators, supplier-outreach specialists, data analysts, contract administrators, and management personnel required.

a. GSA awards contract terms from 12-60 months. Some years may have higher volumes depending on the number of contracts expiring. The contract terms are determined by the most favorable contract terms. Currently, we have awarded mostly 12-24 month terms, but in previous years we have awarded 60 month terms.

11.Account-Management Transaction Volumes and Service Levels: The PWS assigns the contractor responsibility for account enrollment, billing, payment, transition, additions, deletions, and supplier and utility issue resolution across the portfolio. What historical and projected transaction volumes and performance standards apply to management of the approximately 1,900 electricity and natural-gas end-use accounts?

a. Account enrollment management would be for all accounts under contract. As new contracts are awarded, the contractor would be responsible for ensuring that all accounts are transitioned and enrolled with the new supplier. The number of enrollments per year would be largely dependent on the number of contracts awarded. Typically we have a few additions or deletions per month (3-5). Billing and payment issues are about the same (3-5 per month). Generally, supplier issues are related to billing.

12.Incumbent Transition, Government Data, and Systems Access: What transition assistance, incumbent data, Government systems, repositories, credentials, and historical records will GSA make available to the awardee? Why this matters: Transition assumptions can materially change staffing, implementation schedules, technology costs, data-management effort, and operational risk.

a. The awarded contractor will have full access to the historical and current contract information. The contractor will have access to Government systems once the contractor’s personnel have been cleared. The contractor will be assigned a GSA email address and access to the Google drive as well as the databases/repositories. The contractor will be responsible for ensuring their employees complete the HSPD-12 security clearance process.

13.Supplier-Funded Fee Collection and Payment Administration: Please describe the complete contractual and administrative process through which the contractor’s per-Dth, per-kWh, and renewable-power settlement fees will be incorporated, collected, verified, remitted, reconciled, and audited. The stated payment model provides no upfront Government payment and bases contractor revenue on actual electricity and natural-gas consumption under resulting supply contracts.

a. The fee is collected through the utility or supply bills and paid to the awarded contractor. The set fee is included in the supply solicitation and incorporated into the supplier’s proposed cost. The contractor will be responsible for setting up the payment arrangements with the suppliers. This payment arrangement is not applicable to the Supplier Neutrality response in Question 8.

14.Post-Expiration Account-Management and Revenue-Tail Obligations: What account-management, billing, settlement, reporting, platform, cybersecurity, and contract-administration obligations continue after expiration or termination of the advisory-services contract when resulting energy-supply contracts remain active?

a. Since the contractor is paid based on the awarded supply contract for the term of the contract, the contractor will be responsible for contract administration and account management through the term of the supply contract. Account administration will transition to the newly awarded contractor as new supply contracts are awarded. The contractor will receive the fee through the term of the supply contract. The new contractor will be responsible for providing the platform and meeting the cybersecurity requirements for the platform once the advisory services portion of the contract ends.

15.Will GSA provide direct funding, beyond the per kWh and dth fees, for FedRamp related costs over the term of this contract?

16.This Contractor is aware of potential new requirements related to IT and FedRamp, one example is provided in the following link:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2026/02/07/a-quiet-policy-shift-just-redefined-e ntire-federal-cybersecurity-landscape/. Will the Contractor receive direct funding from GSA, beyond the per kWh and dth fees, to reimburse costs for updated IT and FedRamp requirements during the term of this contract?

a. GSA will evaluate changes if or when they are enacted and may consider a modification based on the changes to FEDRamp requirements.

17.Section B.1 states the electricity accounts represent four billion kWhs annually and the natural gas accounts represent twenty million dths annually. Based on this Contractor’s review of SAM.gov award notices, it appears much of the electric and natural gas load is already under long-term energy supply contracts with third-party energy suppliers that will not expire until after September 30, 2031. In relation to M.3 Pricing tables, please confirm that the pricing submitted by the Contractor only applies to volumes not currently under contract or on active supply agreements.

a. The incumbent contractor will receive the fee until the current supply contracts expire. As new contracts are awarded, the new contractor’s fee will be included as part of the awarded contract. The new contractor will not receive a fee for the current awarded supply contracts.

18.As the auction fees per kWh and dth will be the Contractor’s only form of compensation for providing the full scope of services listed in this RFP, will the Contractor have the final say on when auctions in each FY are conducted?

a. No, GSA will make the final determination on when auctions are conducted. GSA will take the contractor’s recommendations into consideration, but the final determination will come from GSA.

19.If the Contractor believes the auction prices received are competitive, does the

Contractor have final say on whether GSA accepts auction prices or does GSA have the ability not to make awards even if the prices received through the Contractor’s auction platform are competitive?

a. No, GSA will make the final decision whether to award or not.

20.Does GSA guarantee that it will run and award contracts through the Contractor’s auction platform each FY?

a. No, auctions will be held on an as needed basis. Most pricing is received from the auction platform, but the number of auctions will vary each year. We have not had a year that the platform has not been used for pricing.

21.If GSA doesn’t award contracts through the Contractor’s auction platform on the first try, is the Contractor required to run another auction?

22.If the Contractor is required to re-run any auctions, will GSA increase the per kWh or dth fee to cover the additional costs to the Contractor?

23.Does the Contractor dictate the term for the auctions and contract awards (i.e. 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months) or does GSA make the final decision on term?

a. GSA will make the final decision on term length.

24.Does GSA coordinate with the agencies included in each auction to confirm their usage, discuss any recently completed or planned projects that would impact usage, and other information needed to confirm contract volumes or is the Contractor expected to lead that communication?

a. The contractor is expected to lead that communication.

25.Section B.1 states the Contractor will, “assist agencies in gathering their load data from utilities”. Will the Contractor be responsible for collecting utility data from the utilities or will agencies be responsible for collecting their utility data from the utilities and providing that data to the Contractor and GSA?

a. The Contractor will assist agencies with collecting their utility data via the Utility Letter of Authority (LOA), to include following up with the Utility if no response is received.

26.Section C.2 (1), can GSA provide an example of a Renewable Energy Certification attestation report?

a. A REC attestation report shows the number of megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity generated, and the source of that renewable electricity. For every one MWh produced, one REC is issued. See Attachment A - Renewable Power Energy.

27.Section C.2 (1), can GSA provide details on how many REC attestation reports it expects to collect/receive each year of this contract?

a. GSA can expect to receive 25-30 REC attestation reports for our Agency, and

30-40 total for contracts that include attestation reports for other Agencies as well.

28.Section C.2 (1), can GSA provide details on the methodology it requires the Contractor to use to review the reports for accuracy?

a. We require the Contractor to collect REC attestations and organize the info in a pre-determined template provided by GSA. This template includes the format GSA uses in it’s official AEMR submission to FEMP. A specific methodology however, is not detailed or required by the current scope of work, nor is the template referenced.

b. Regarding REC attestations, the scope includes the following language:

i. “Collect Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) attestation, prepare REC reports, and distribute to GSA and GSA client agencies.”

29.Section C.2 (1), can GSA provide details on how many agencies and agency POCs the

Contractor will be required to distribute the reports to and confirm GSA will provide the POCs to the Contractor?

a. There are 10-15 Agencies the Contractor will be required to distribute reports to.

And yes, GSA will provide POCs for those Agencies.

30.Section C.2 (3), this Contractor’s understanding is that the majority of GSA’s current contracts are for some form of fixed pricing (all in fixed pricing, fixed pricing with pass throughs, fixed block pricing, etc.). Since this limits what actions can be taken to achieve additional savings, can GSA provide information on what the Contractor must provide monthly?

a. The goal of this report is to show the cost savings of the awarded supply contracts versus standard utility service.

31.Section C.2 (4), can GSA provide a full list of the ad hoc analysis GSA currently receives from its current supply side energy support contractor so this Contractor can get a better understanding of the level of effort required?

a. This may include, but not limited to, contract price analysis, cost savings on particular contracts, reviewing billing issues and outlining the issues that deviate from the contract, providing pricing analysis for modifications to add accounts, providing technical information to respond to supplier or utility questions and other technical assistance as needed.

32.Section C.2 (4), can GSA provide a detailed list of the types of ad hoc analysis it expects the Contractor to provide over the term of this five-year contract so this Contractor can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. Since the ad hoc analysis is on an as needed basis, GSA cannot determine the need over the 5-year contract period. The level of analysis will vary with the requests. Refer to the questions regarding the estimated work outlined in other questions.

33.Section C.2 (5), can GSA provide examples of spreadsheets, presentations and other related materials GSA is currently providing to agencies on its retail choice energy supply contracts?

a. The contractor provides the price to compare presentations for agencies prior to each auction which include market analysis, term recommendation, historical and future information that may impact the terms and pricing. The contractor provides analysis to individual agencies or account holders as questions arise. The contractor provides information and presentations for FEMP training and other Government training. The contractor updates the GSA databases on a monthly basis (Excel spreadsheet).

34.Section C.2 (6), can GSA quantify the number of agencies or annual requests the

Contractor will be expected to respond to annually?

a. GSA receives 5-10 requests for assistance from agencies or suppliers on a daily basis. These requests will require varying levels of effort from the contractor.

Estimated 1,300-2,600 requests per year.

35.Section C.3, can GSA provide a full detailed description of all account manager related services the Contractor will be expected to provide on an annual basis?

a. The contractor will verify usage, planned projects or other changes that may impact usage over the term of the upcoming contract, and coordinate with the agency to obtain award acceptance during the procurement process. Post award the contractor will complete enrollments, ensure a smooth transition between suppliers, and respond or assist GSA in responding to technical questions regarding billing, usage, payments or other account related issues.

36.Section C.3, can GSA explain the roles GSA and the Contractor will each be responsible for in relation to managing billing, payment, and account issues for the 1,900 electric and natural gas accounts?

a. The contractor will be responsible for ensuring that GSA has correct billing information for each account and that the information is up to date prior to each energy procurement. The contractor will be responsible for working with GSA and other agencies to resolve account issues (non-payment, billing discrepancies, prior contract balances due, etc.). Payment issues tend to be issues related to incorrect billing information or non-payment. Some issues may be complex, but most will be coordinating with the proper parties.

37.Section C.3, can GSA confirm if the Contractor will be required to audit or review utility or supplier invoices for any or all of the 1,900 + accounts?

a. No, the contractor will review accounts on an as needed basis. If an issue is identified, the contractor will be asked to review the invoices to determine if corrective action is needed.

38.Section C.3, can GSA explain whether the Government or the Contractor will be responsible for coordinating with agencies and utilities in relation to new supplier enrollment forms?

a. Yes, the contractor will be responsible for this.

39.Section C.6 (6), can GSA confirm that the database referenced in this task is in fact the procurement data exhibit (i.e., Exhibit 1) created and released as part of each procurement?

a. No, this is GSA’s account management database (UCAT). The information in the database comes from the Exhibit 1 and contract data. The database also includes account information, points of contact and historical data. The information is required to be updated on a monthly basis.

40.Section C.6 (6), if the answer to question 25, listed previously, is no, can GSA provide a link to or demo of the Government’s database so that the Contractor can understand the data sets and requirements and can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. No, the database is located on the GSA network.

41.Section C.6 (6), if the answer to question 25, listed previously, is no, can GSA provide a detailed description of each data set and field the Contractor will need to store on the Government’s database?

a. See Attachment B - UCAT Master File Template.

42.Section C.6 (8), can GSA provide a breakdown on how many of the 1,900 electric and natural gas accounts are being billed as consolidated through the utility, consolidated through the supplier and dual billed by the supplier?

a. Consolidated by Supplier: 26%, Consolidated by Utility: 24% Dual: 50%, Dual by Supplier: less than 1%.

43.Section C.6 (8), can GSA provide specifics on what “assist” means in relation to what

GSA will be responsible for and the Contractor will be responsible for so the Contractor can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. Provide customer point of contact or billing system used by customer.

44.Section C.7, can GSA confirm if the Contractor personnel that provide these services will need to be HSPD 12 credentialed to access GSA’s Google drive, GSA contract writing system, etc?

a. Yes. All Contractor personnel working in GSA systems must be credentialed.

45.Section C.7, if the Contractor does not have personnel with HSPD 12 credentials currently, can they access GSA systems and perform these tasks prior to receiving the credentials?

46.Section C.7, can GSA confirm how long it generally takes to get HSPD 12 credentials?

a. It can vary. If the candidate already possesses HSPD-12 credentials, the contract can be added to the profile and could be completed in a week. If the candidate does not possess HSPD-12 credentials, it could take 3 months or more depending on the complexity of the background check required.

47.Section C.7, for pricing purposes, can GSA specify its expectation of how many hours or the quantity of contracts of support necessary to perform these specific tasks?

a. The expectation would be 30-40 hours per week. During procurements, the contract support will have more work. They will be required to maintain the files and ensure that documents are uploaded as they are received.

48.Section C.7, is GSA’s expectation that the Contractor will provide a dedicated resource to support these tasks since they are extremely specific to Government-related requirements?

49.Section C.7, can GSA provide a list of the various GSA systems the Contractor will need to access to perform these tasks (EASi, FPDS, SAM power user, etc.).

a. The contractor will require access to UCAT, EASi, and the Retail Utilities Google Drive.

50.Section C.7 (1), can GSA provide additional information on GSA’s contract writing system?

a. Most of the work done in GSA’s contract writing system (EASi) is done by GSA personnel. The contractor may be asked to upload contract documents.

51.Section C.7 (1), can GSA provide a detailed description of the GSA Contract File Checklist?

a. See Attachment C - Contract File Checklist. Please note this is a general contract checklist and is not specific to utilities. Not all documents are required for supply contracts.

52.Section C.7 (3), can GSA provide an estimate of how many energy supplier inquiries it anticipates receiving annually so the Contractor can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. See question #34. The number of tasks include inquiries from suppliers and account holders.

53.Section C.7 (3), can GSA provide an estimate of how many customer and utility vendor contractor issues it anticipates will need to be resolved annually so the Contractor can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. Refer to Question #34.

54.Section C.7 (4), can GSA provide a detailed list of the miscellaneous contract administrative support tasks the Contractor will be responsible for preparing so the Contractor can incorporate the level of staffing and costs associated with this task?

a. Please review Section C.7. of the RFP for these associated duties.

55.General, will the Contractor be involved in or responsible for assisting GSA in pulling together data for Fiscal Year acquisition plans for electricity or natural gas?

a. The Contractor is responsible for pulling together data required in the scope of work.

56.General, will the Contractor be involved in or responsible for assisting GSA in tracking data and statistics against acquisition plan projections during each FY?

57.General, a number of tasks in this RFP require the Contractor to coordinate with agency

POCs for the 1,900+ accounts on GSA’s retail choice program; will GSA provide that list to the Contractor or is the Contractor responsible for collecting all the points of contact for the various agencies and accounts?

a. GSA has a list of points of contact, but the contractor will be responsible for updating the points of contacts if they change over the term of the contract.

58.General, is GSA or the Contractor responsible for tracking and updating on an ongoing basis the agency POCs for the 1,900+ accounts on GSA’s retail choice program?

a. The contractor.

59.General, if GSA markets new customers during the term of this contract is the Contractor responsible for supporting this effort?

60.General, if GSA markets new customers or customer agencies who have many small accounts where the potential per kWh and dth fees may not cover the cost of the Contractor assisting GSA with marketing, pulling data, running auctions, etc.: can the Contractor opt out of assisting GSA in the marketing effort?

61.General, will the Contractor be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) over the term of this contract?

62.General, if the Contractor is required to sign NDAs, can the Contractor provide the NDA forms or will the Contractor be required to sign GSA’s NDA forms?

a. The Contractor will be required to sign GSA’s NDA forms.

63.General, does GSA expect the Contractor to provide training to GSA staff over the term of this contract and if so what types of training sessions are anticipated?

a. The contractor may be required to provide training to GSA staff over the term of the contract. This may include general training on supply markets, technical and general program information. The contractor may be asked to provide training to new employees on supply markets, types of products, and technical information.

The contractor may be asked to provide technical expertise for government-wide training.

64.General, can GSA provide an organizational chart showing the current personnel supporting GSA’s retail choice program including the roles and responsibilities of each GSA staff member?

a. The retail choice program includes four warranted contracting officers and a contract specialist. The program also has several program managers that assist with retail choice programs like attestation reports, REC purchases, and utility bill auditing.

65.General, can GSA confirm if requesting the Contractor to pull PJM capacity tags on an annual basis for all or some PJM accounts could be a task required under C.2 (4)?

66.General, can GSA confirm if requesting the Contractor to create a database of switching roles (account size minimums, metering requirements, etc.) could be a task required under C.2 (4)?

a. Not sure what is meant by a database of switching roles. Ad hoc analysis could be analysis of product types, advising on pricing or terms for particular accounts, cost/benefit analysis, or recommendations for adding accounts.

67.General, in researching GSA’s retail choice program, the Contractor understands that

GSA utilizes a tool called UCAT. Can GSA explain whether the Contractor will need to interface or upload data into that tool during the term of this contract?

a. Yes. See Question #33 response.

68.General, can GSA provide a detailed description of UCAT including its business use?

a. UCAT holds all of GSA’s information for retail supply accounts present and historical. See #39.

69.General, can GSA provide a detailed list of all the data fields in the UCAT system and the number of accounts that are currently tracked in UCAT?

a. All current and historical accounts participating in the Retail program are in

UCAT.

70.General, if the Contractor will be responsible for uploading data into UCAT or providing

GSA with data to upload into UCAT, can GSA provide a template showing what data fields the Contractor will be responsible for tracking for UCAT upload purposes?

a. See attached - UCAT Master File Template.

71.General, if the UCAT database fields are updated, new fields are added, fields are removed; is it the Contractors’ responsibility to make all those changes to the data set it tracks?

72.General, does the Contractor have the option to say no to collecting data for fields that are not included in the Government’s bid documents or the Contractor’s reverse auction platform but the Government wants to track in UCAT for retail choice accounts?

73.General, Standard Form 33 shows individual prices for natural gas and electricity for each contract year; however, RFP section M.3 Price states that the fee submitted in the proposal “will be in place for the Offeror’s full performance period of the contract, inclusive of option years.” Does section M.3 need to be updated to permit prices to be submitted for each contract year or does Standard Form 33 need to be updated?

a. The SF33 has been updated to have 15 each line items total, which now includes five new line items for renewable energy pricing. In accordance with the RFP requirements, the contractors must submit the same rate for all five years. In the SF33, the contractor must input the same rate for each type (i.e., electricity, natural gas, and renewable energy. The options are to be listed as separate line items since the option years are exercised each year.

74.General, Standard Form 33 shows the pricing unit of measure (UOM) for natural gas and electricity pricing to be KW; however the UOM in RFP section M.3 Price is dth and kWh.

Does the UOM in section M.3 need to be updated or does Standard Form 33 need to be updated?

a. See revised SF33, the contract writing system is limited, the correct UOMs are dth and kWh as per the descriptions.

75.Section C.6 (1), the task requires the Contractor to “maintain an electronic central data repository of all relevant contract and account information which is directly accessible by the Government and maintained on a Government-owned platform.” The requirement to maintain it on a Government-owned platform contradicts Section C.8 (2) which states that the Contractor must store “auction records and account data for all accounts included in each GSA auction on the Contractor’s platform.” Since the Contractor’s auction platform is not hosted on a Government-owned platform, please modify C.6 (1) to allow storage on the Contractor’s platform.

a. The electronic records related to account data and auction records will be stored on the contractor’s auction platform, but records must also be maintained in the GSA databases. This can be PDF copies of the records. These may include auction results, records of supplier bids, suppliers included in auctions, customer accounts, and any other procurement information.

76.Section G, a monthly progress report is listed as a deliverable; however, it is not listed as a deliverable in C.9. Please confirm that a monthly progress report is a requirement and should be listed in C.9.

a. This should be weekly progress reports. Monthly Status Reports has been removed.

77.Section G, what is the difference between the weekly and monthly progress reports?

a. See Question #76.

78.Section H.4, the section states that, “Contractors must use Government provided systems and email to secure, store, process, and/or transmit any information pertaining to the services provided under this contract.” This requirement directly contradicts C.8

(2) which states that the Contractor must store “auction records and account data for all accounts included in each GSA auction on the Contractor’s platform.” Since the

Contractor’s auction platform is not hosted on a Government-owned platform, please modify H.4 to allow the Contractor to secure, store, and process information on the Contractor’s platform.

a. The contractor will be required to use GSA-issued email for correspondence and utilize GSA-systems for documents (Google and UCAT). See response to question 75 as it relates to the platform.

79.Section M.2 Factor 3, the section states that “completed PPQs should be submitted with the proposal; however, the page limit for the section is 3 pages and each form totals 6 pages. Can the completed PPQs be included in an Appendix to the technical proposal?

a. Completed PPQs do not count toward the page limit stated.

80.Section C.5 (3), how many REC sales are anticipated each year of the contract?

a. RECs are sold 4 times per year. Production and billing is reviewed monthly.

81.Section C.5 (3), does GSA retire or sell the RECs from the PPAs?

a. GSA sells the RECs.

82.Section C.5 (3), how many RECs will be sold or retired each year of the contract?

a. We average 550,000 RECs per year.

83.Section C.9 (4), is the central data repository referenced here UCAT?

84.M.2 Factor 3 states that, “Completed PPQs should be submitted with the proposal.”

However, the PPQ states that,”GSA requests that the client completes this questionnaire and submits it directly to the Contracting Officer.” Please clarify how the completed PPQs need to be submitted.

a. The client should submit it directly to GSA. The Contractor should not submit the PPQ. The RFP has been updated.