RFI Clarification Questions and Answers - 12 AUG 2026.pdf

RFI – Clarification Questions 12 August 2026

1. While the SOW references power down windows, please confirm whether any hot cutovers will be required as part of this effort.

All work related to the transition from the old system over to the new system will have to be completed without interrupting equipment located in room 132. The only exception is the cutover from the inverter A/C circuits, but exact details will need to be coordinated in advance with site POC. This will allow us to submit a request for an ASI (Authorized Service Interruption). Vendor will be required to provide a primary/alternate date and time for the cutover.

2. Are any personnel required to hold security clearances to access the work areas?

No, security clearance is not required, however all Personnel must be able to obtain a visitor pass issued by our security forces. This will entail providing two forms of ID and passing a background check (In general, no felonies in the past 10 years, wanted or open warrants).

3. Will any classified equipment or materials be covered or secured prior to our team beginning work?

Yes, the area will be cleared of any classified material.

4. Will your command’s security office require criminal background checks for our personnel?

Personnel must be able to obtain a visitor pass issued by our security forces. This will entail providing two forms of ID and passing a background check (In general, no felonies in the past 10 years, wanted or open warrants).

5. Will work be permitted during normal duty hours, or will off-hour / after-hours work be required?

Work will be done during our normal working hours, Monday through Friday, 0730 to 1630 Hrs. Work will not be performed during government holidays. If work is required after hours or during the weekend, please coordinate with site POC.

6. In the event of a real-world operational contingency, will our team be required to vacate the site until operations stabilize?

The site POC will inform the project leader of any contingencies that require personnel to vacate the site.

7. The existing DC powerplant is rated at 2800A, with a known load between 1200–1300A. Most systems we can provide fall within the 2400A capacity range. Please confirm whether this capacity is acceptable for your long-term operational needs.

Yes, that is acceptable, the vendor will provide the DC powerplant rating minimum of 2400A.

8. Are there any planned or anticipated load expansions for this facility that we should incorporate into our system design?

Our facility is constantly changing with the addition and removal of equipment at any given time. Any design improvements that allow for expansion or an optimized system is welcome.

9. Are there any special control, monitoring, fire-control, or health-safety alarming requirements that must be integrated into our design?

Other than the emergency battery disconnects, requirements for monitoring are not required. Alarms already designed into the system are acceptable.

10. Should unused conductors be removed as part of the project, or should they remain in place as future spares?

Unused conductors shall be removed unless they are designated as active spares. The vendor will evaluate the physical condition and containment capacity of the existing conduits to determine if leaving spares is viable, adhering to industry best practices and national electrical codes.

11. Will we be permitted to self-perform removal and disposal of equipment and materials, or must disposal be coordinated through the base property disposal office?

Vendor shall arrange for removal/disposal of all equipment, components, batteries, wiring and construction debris from site. Normal trash and debris can be disposed of in the dumpsters located near the parking area.

12. Can you provide the location and orientation you want for the rectifier plants, inverter, and distribution bay?

The vendor shall consolidate all equipment into room 133 where the current rectifier and batteries are located. The power distribution bay and inverter are currently located in room 132 and shall be moved into room 133. The specific arrangement will be discussed with the vendor when new equipment specifications are known. We will collaborate with the vendor on the best way forward to properly orient all components of the system.

13. Do you want a separate distribution bay or is there an option to have distribution in the same bays as the rectifiers?

We do not have a requirement for a separate distribution bay. We would like the vendor to propose a viable solution that meets industry standards.

We prefer an integrated solution where the distribution resides within the same bays as the rectifiers to optimize floor space and minimize footprint.

14. Are there any restrictions on wall penetrations to route the cables to the BDFB?

No, we ask that industry’s best practices be utilized for wall penetration that are required.

Additionally, they shall be seamless, have the appearance of a prepared surface by paint, drywall or finished trim material.

15. Can in-line splices be used to allow for reusing some of the exiting cable?

Yes, must utilize industry’s best practices while meeting safety compliance standards.

16. Is the plan to keep the existing cable tray?

The existing cable tray should be reutilized where possible.

17. Can another site visit be arranged to verify conditions after the response to the questions?

The Government’s intent is to not hold another site visit.

18. Is there a specific battery reserve time that is needed and at what load should it be calculated?

4 hours minimum with the current load of 1232 Amps/54 vdc

19. Please confirm whether Davis-Bacon applies and whether a wage determination will be issued.

Davis-Bacon does not apply for this requirement, also a SCA wage determination will not be used.

20. Please confirm whether the 180-calendar-day completion period includes material/equipment lead times or whether documented lead times may extend the period of performance.

Documented and unavoidable material/equipment leads time would be acceptable reasons to extend completion past 180 days. Any known equipment lead times need to be identified in the offeror’s quote.

21. Please provide the existing DC plant load details, including current load readings, circuit/load schedule, and any available one-line or power distribution information.

Current load of 1232 Amps/54 vdc

22. Please confirm the required battery runtime/autonomy requirement.

23. Please confirm whether all major equipment must be Made in USA or only compliant with applicable domestic preference/supply-chain clauses.

All quoted major equipment must comply with the domestic end product preference and standards of the Buy American – Supplies statute (Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Overhaul (RFO), Part 25). RFO subpart 25.4 – Trade Agreements does not apply to requirement set aside for small businesses. It is also believed that this requirement does not meet any listed exception to the Buy American statute listed in RFO 25.103.

24. Please confirm that cabling requires fire-rated/non-halogen rated?

We require all new cabling to be fire-rated/non-halogenated where dictated by applicable facility/industry safety regulations and local building codes, and National Electrical Code (NEC) standards.

25. Are escorts required while work is being done at the site? Are escorts required if the workers have security clearances?

Site personnel will be in the area during the installation regardless of workers security clearance. Security clearances are not required by workers.

26. Based on the other than Price factors being approximately equal to Price, should this be a Best Value tradeoff, versus LPTA?

The Government has determined that the LPTA evaluation and awardee selection process is the most appropriate method for this acquisition and does not intend to update the evaluation methodology. IAW the RFQ, quotes will be evaluated for price reasonableness, technical acceptability, and past performance on a pass/fail basis. To be determined technically acceptable, offerors must demonstrate compliance and a clear understanding with all requirements established in the Statement of Work, RFQ, and any additional items within this Q&A document. To reiterate, all items listed within the Statement of , RFQ, and this Q&A document will be included as part of the technical evaluation. No additional credit or preference will be given for capabilities exceeding these baseline requirements.

Award will be made to the lowest-priced, technically acceptable, and compliant offeror.

27. Lowest Priced is often the Highest Risk to both the Contractor and Government. That seems counter to the importance of a Rectifier and Inverter Replacement system. Can you reconsider this being a Best Value Tradeoff versus LPTA?

Please see answer to question 26.

28. Will any drawings of the facility be provided?

There’s a chance facility drawings can be obtained based on availability. The awardee shall request drawings as soon as possible after contract award.

29. Will the scope be updated based on questions from the site visit, and follow-on questions?

Yes.

30. Request a two-week extension once answers are provided to allow time to incorporate information from the site visit and answer to our questions into our proposal.

The Government will extend the quote deadline following posting of this Q&A document.

The Government intends on providing adequate time to prepare quotes. An additional two weeks cannot be guaranteed due to end of fiscal year funding volatility constraints.

31. The RFQ did not request it, but do you want to include battery temperature monitoring for the battery strings? This is normally done by monitoring (1) battery cells in each battery string. This can be used to monitor battery conditions and be useful in preventing thermal runaway.

This is not a mandatory requirement for this project.

32. The RFQ states in general terms to replace the rectifiers, inverter, DC distribution, battery strings, battery disconnects, etc. With full replacement comes the opportunity to place the new equipment more efficiently and better utilize the floor space. Also the ability to install the new DC plant so it does not blow hot exhaust air directly at the battery strings, potentially reducing battery life.

The vendor shall consolidate all equipment into room 133 where the current rectifier and batteries are located. The power distribution bay and inverter are currently located in room 132 and shall be moved into room 133. The specific arrangement will be discussed

33. Should the vendor work out a new power room floor plan to optimize battery and DC plant placement that provides space for future battery and DC plant growth and also prevents hot air discharge directly onto the battery strings?

The specific arrangement will be discussed with the vendor when new equipment specifications are known. We will collaborate with the vendor on the best way forward to properly orient all components of the system.

34. Should the new inverter be located in the DC power room, to free up floor space on the raised floor of the equipment room?

The vendor shall consolidate all equipment into room 133 where the current rectifier and batteries are located. The power distribution bay and inverter are currently located in room 132 and shall be moved into room 133. The specific arrangement will be discussed

35. Should the vendor provide a DC plant configuration that eliminates the DC distribution bay on the raised floor (next to existing inverter bay), freeing up that equipment space?

The vendor shall consolidate all equipment into room 133 where the current rectifier and batteries are located. The power distribution bay and inverter are currently located in room 132 and shall be moved into room 133. The specific arrangement will be discussed

36. I have found and downloaded the DISA Circulars that are available on the public DISA website https://www.disa.mil/about/policies-and-issuances/circulars. Unfortunately these documents did not answer the following technical questions:

Awardee shall request copy of circulars as soon as possible after the award, if applicable/necessary.

37. What is the allowable one-way or loop voltage drop from battery string to DC plant?

Unknown, vendors shall apply industry’s best practice in implementing connectivity between the battery strings and DC plant.

38. What is the allowable one-way or loop voltage drop from the DC plant to the BDCBB (Battery Distribution Circuit Breaker Bay). This bay is labeled as “RR323” on the raised floor?

39. What is the required minimum battery reserve time for the DC plant? (In the telecom industry in the USA, sites with an auto-start generator will typically have a 4 hour battery reserve and sites without a generator will typically have an 8 hour battery reserve).

40. If DC power feeds to BDCBB “RR323” are to be cabled directly from the new DC plant, new cable racking and cables will be required. This will require a new penetration through the block wall separating the power room from the equipment room. Does DISA specify a particular brand/system of fire-stopping for these cable holes? (Typical in AT&T and other former Bell System type offices is the Hilti CFS-BL “Firestop block” as one example) https://www.disa.mil/about/policies-and-issuances/circulars

41. If the above technical questions are not covered by any DISA Circulars, would the customer consider following an established set of standards that all DC plant install vendors will be familiar with, such as ATT’s TP76300 and TP76400?

Unknown, vendors shall apply industry’s best practice in determining the rack and cables needed between the DC power plant.

42. Regarding the Main Ground Bar or “MGB” (located under the raised floor), the existing one at the site is small and all termination positions are taken, limiting future growth. Replacing the bar carries a bit of risk if there is lightening in the area or other ground faults during the actual replacement. Installing a supplemental MGB next to the existing MGB will provide additional termination positions without the risk of replacing the existing MGB. Is this acceptable?

Installing a supplemental MGB is acceptable.

43. What are the allowed working hours for the following:

Work will be done during our normal working hours, Monday through Friday, 0730 to

44. General installation, cabling, ironwork, cutting, drilling, etc.

45. Removal and installation of battery strings.

46. Running conduit, electrical wiring and general AC electrical work without AC panel shutdowns.

47. AC work that requires shutdowns of AC panel (DC plant current and operation of communications equipment will be maintained by the battery strings.).

Work will be done during our normal working hours, Monday through Friday, 0730 to

48. DC circuit transitions from the existing DC plant to the new DC plant (This will be done in a way that maintains DC current to all communications equipment and will have no planned interruptions).

49. Inverted AC circuit transitions from the existing inverter AC panel (built into the inverter) to the new inverter AC panel (will be mounted to the right of the large AC panels in the equipment room). These WILL require a brief loss of AC power during this transition so advance planning may be necessary. The loads are listed below:

o Circuit 1. 30A RR311 o Circuit 2. 20A RR312 o Circuit 3. 30A RR311 o Circuit 4. 20A RR312 o Circuit 5. 20A RR312 o Circuit 6. 20A RR312

This is permissible but exact details will need to be coordinated in advance with site POC.

This will allow us to submit a request for an ASI (Authorized Service Interruption). Vendor will be required to provide a primary/alternate date and time for the cutover.

50. Is the output on the electrical three-phase system 208V or 277V/480V?

51. What is the capacity of the existing batteries in Amp Hours?

52. Could you provide the information from the nameplate of the existing batteries?

See photo included in answer #51

53. Are the existing batteries 48V DC wired in parallel or series, or is there a higher voltage?

54. Is there enough real estate to add four more battery racks?

Possibly, however the mandatory requirement is to consolidate all equipment into room 133 where the current rectifier and batteries are located. The power distribution bay and inverter are currently located in room 132 and shall be moved into room 133. The specific arrangement will be discussed with the vendor when new equipment specifications are known. We will collaborate with the vendor on the best way forward to properly orient all components of the system.

55. Is each rack tied directly to a string of solar?

Solar power is not in use.

56. How much solar power is currently coming in?

Solar power is not in use.

57. Are there schematics or a one-line diagram available for the existing system?

The manuals for the installation of current system are available, it is undetermined if this is a complete set covering all components of the current system.

58. The existing inverter appears oversized for the current load. Should the replacement retain the existing inverter capacity, or may it be sized to the documented load?

They might be correct that it’s oversized. I’m not sure why but I would say this allows for us to expand system load if additional equipment were to be installed in the future. I would leave it as written

59. The existing system is 120 VAC. Does the replacement need 208 VAC capability, or should it remain 120 VAC only?

If the existing system supports 120 VAC and 208 VAC, then it should be the requirement. If it’s currently only 120 VAC then no need to add 208VAC. Right now, the breakers support 6 breakers that are 20 and 30 Amp, I would say we need the panel to be able to support a total of 24 breakers.

60. The RFQ requires two recent and relevant past performance citations for similar rectifier equipment installation. If we quote with a qualified subcontractor that will perform the rectifier system installation, may the quotation rely on the subcontractor’s relevant past performance to satisfy this requirement?

Yes, the subcontractor must be clearly identified in the offeror’s quote and the past performance citations must still meet all requirements listed within the RFQ. The citations must clearly identify the subcontractor listed in the quote as performing the work under the citation.