16._SSJ.doc

DRAFT

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition Western Area Power Administration FAR 13.5, Simplified Acquisitions - Test Program for Certain Commercial Items

PR #16WA118643

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Rocky Mountain Region (RMR), 5555 E. Crossroads Blvd

Loveland, CO 80538

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

Sole source to GE Grid Solutions, for RMR’s SCADA Upgrade Services requirement under a Firm Fixed Price contract.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs.

GE SCADA Energy Management System (EMS) software, implementation support and training related to the new software. This software upgrade is necessary in order to ensure up to date and secure software on the RMR-S (Phoenix) and RMR-N (Loveland) SCADA/EMS systems. It is required to maintain the required level of RMR EMS reliability for power systems operations.

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

Citation: 41 U.S.C. § 253(c)1.

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

This procurement action is to provide updated software, implementation assistance and training for the RMR SCADA systems (located in Loveland and Phoenix). RMR SCADA has many person-years of development, training, and operational practice specifically in the GE EMS SCADA system. SCADA is a highly specialized and customized application. The system is based on proprietary GE Grid Solutions designs that no other vendor has access to. They are the only company capable of delivering the products and services that we need to support the reliability of our system and the enhancements we need to keep up with industry changes and advancements.

6. A description of efforts to ensure that offers were solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

Due to the proprietary nature of the software, the only source available to provide the software updates, and related implementation, services, and training is GE. GE‘s software is the only software compatible with RMR’s existing system.