Control Number: 26-0006

DECEMBER 2025

RFO FAR 6.103-1(d) Application for brand-name descriptions.

Class justification is authorized by RFO FAR 6.104(c).

6. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background: For over 10 years, NWD districts have procured SEL power system products (specifically, those listed in section 3) for the operating projects in Districts listed in Table 1. Although SEL power system product acquisitions are for almost identical components with standard language, individual J&As have been prepared and approved for each separate contract. The Government desires to expedite these acquisitions by executing a class J&A and eliminating the need to prepare separate J&As and route them for approval each time SEL power system products are required.

SEL is an industry leader in power system protection, technology, service, and value.

SEL power system products are necessary for the electrical protection and control of hydroelectric generators and transformers. They are integrally tied into the existing operating projects electrical control and protection systems. The software, hardware, and some communications protocols are intellectual property protected by copyrights, patents, or similar laws. The hardware and software are functionally linked and legally protected from copying. In order to control life cycle and system sustainability costs, Hydroelectric Design Center (HDC) and NWD districts have standardized hydroelectric generator and transformer protection devices with SEL power system products that are successfully utilized in the facility’s operations and maintenance programs and processes.

The standardization of these electrical protection devices, related products, and software ensures common operation and functionality among systems, providing the ability to add new input/output devices to any system; allows the project to use common networking hardware for all protective circuits; and enables the project to use and maintain licensure on a single programming software suite. Additionally, the use of common hardware and software across multiple control systems will increase personnel efficiency due to familiarity with the software, reducing personnel training requirements and the need to be prepared for recurring and nonrecurring maintenance at the operation projects. SEL protective devices are the only devices that can communicate with their programming software, AcSELerator, which nearly all NWD relay technicians are already familiar with operating. There are no other brands of components which will allow us to realize these efficiencies.

Individual brand-name justifications for SEL power system products have been historically authorized for many years because there are no other products that have the same proprietary characteristics/design or can be substituted for SEL power system products.

b. Alternatives: To incorporate any alternative products would require major rework and retrofit, as HDC and NWD districts have standardized generator and transformer protective devices with SEL products that are successfully utilized in the facility’s operations and maintenance programs and processes. SEL protective relays are integrated into the protection and control systems for the entire project, so while providing primary protection for an asset, they also have tentacles that reach into the Sequential Event Records, provide telemetry data to the Generic Data Acquisition and Control System (GDACS), and perform supervisory control for closing generator breakers. Replacing a SEL protective relay with an alternative protective relay would require extensive retrofitting to accommodate incompatible communication protocols, hardware/software/wiring, differences in settings, and training for repair and maintenance. This would require the complete redesign of 29 powerhouses’ control systems including 196 generating units.

Utilizing alternative power system products would introduce significant negative risks to the operation and maintenance of the projects’ electrical protection and control system.

Increased complexity will be added to the system, thus decreasing the reliability and maintainability. Using alternate components would require redesign of the system, retrofitting the system, recommissioning, manufacture-specific training, and procurement of spare parts at additional cost to the government.

c. Impact if not approved: The impact of not approving a class justification at a minimum is twofold: (1) districts will have to continue submitting individual J&As for SEL products; and (2) if no J&As for SEL products are approved, districts will have to draft specifications using salient features and without brand names, and they may or may not obtain SEL products from contractors – which will result in major rework to multiple systems and components to retrofit or adapt another manufacturer’s products into USACE power systems.

Implementation of different brands will require the project personnel and design engineers to acquire the additional training and equipment necessary to design and maintain that system. Personnel will not be able to utilize their existing knowledge capabilities and programming software but will be required to learn the intricacies of another system, increasing the complexity and duration of alterations or repairs and thus, jeopardizing USACE assets and the USACE NWD Mission. Additional maintenance agreements will also likely be required. Cost and labor hours for personnel to attend training would greatly increase. Failure to use the specified electrical protective devices could result in significant damage to the hydroelectric generator.

Some components, such as the generator winding, take 6 months or more to repair.

If this class J&A is not approved, the operating projects will continue to complete individual J&As for each SEL contract. In the past four years, NWW alone completed seven contracts resulting in an average J&A cost per hydroelectric generating unit of total of contracts divided by number of main units in NWW inventory).

The

Government could continue to issue individual J&As for each separate contract, but a Class J&A would substantially reduce time and effort and expedite contract awards for SEL products.

7. Efforts to Obtain Competition: For future requirements of brand-name SEL power system products, the Contracting Officer will publish the notices required by FAR 5.002 to increase competition, broaden industry participation in meeting Government requirements, and inform small business concerns of contract and subcontract opportunities.

a. Effective competition: In accordance with Class Deviation 2026-O0017 and DFARS PGI 206.103-170(d), a Sources Sought notice (Notice ID W912EF26RSS04) was posted to SAM.GOV on 25 NOV 2025 seeking sources for the brand-name requirement of SEL power system products for use across NWD hydroelectric operating projects. One small business responded indicating interest. Based on historical acquisitions (see section 11 below), effective competition among small businesses is anticipated.

8. Actions to Increase Competition: Synopses and solicitations for small business set aside (SBSA) will be published to SAM.GOV for future competition before any subsequent acquisition of SEL power system products.

9. Market Research: Market research indicates that other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the agency’s needs. Market research shows SEL brand-name product is the only product identified as compatible with the existing system. Other sources have been vetted to meet current needs (e.g., Eaton, Basler, Schneider, ABB, and others), but there is no alternative available without complete system replacement with an equivalent product.

SEL is the only compatible product offered at this time. Historically procurements for SEL power system products have been solicited as small business set asides and generated competition. A Sources Sought notice (Notice ID W912EF26RSS04) was posted to SAM.GOV on 25 NOV 2025. One small business responded indicating interest. However, further market research and procurement history demonstrate there is adequate competition among small businesses for brand-name SEL power system products.

10. Interested Sources: One small business responded to the 25 NOV 2025 Sources Sought notice.

a. BHPE LLC Oklahoma City, OK

g. W912EF-23-C-0004: FAR 13.106-1(b), Brand name.

h. W912EF-23-C-0006: FAR 13.106-1(b), Brand name.

i. W912EF-25-C-A026: FAR 13.106-1(b) and FAR 11.105(a)(1), Brand name.