NOO Amendment 0003 Questions and Answers.pdf

GSANDER72023: Notice of Opportunity (NOO) for GSA/PBS National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) Round 7 ESPC Procurement

AMENDMENT 0003 - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Question:With respect to Factor 4, would GSA exclude the project list(s) from the page limit, as has been the case with past NDER solicitations? ESCOs have varying levels of experience in the selected regions, so including the list(s) in page count reduces the ability of ESCOs with longer project lists to explain their Best Fit for Buildings rationale.

Answer: See revised NOO excluding the project list from the Factor 4 page limitation.

2. Question: Please confirm that the Top Secret clearance requirement in the NOO would be satisfied if an ESCO proposes to staff the NCR-1 Project with an employee holding an active Secret Clearance who is also cleared for Top Secret but needs GSA to sponsor him to activate Top Secret clearance status, an accelerated process that could be initiated upon ESCO selection.

Answer: GSA will initiate a DD Form 254, Contract Security Classification Specification, with the selected ESCO at the appropriate time.

3. Question: Page one bullet item 2 of the NOO states “Reduce water consumption at federal facilities”. However, no water information was provided for the Region 5 project.

Should ESCOs still be considering water conservation measures for the Region 5 project? If so, can GSA provide water consumption data for the facilities included in the Region 5 project?

Answer: See revised NOO Attachment A - EOI Supplemental Data.

4. Question: Page 5 of the NOO states “Projects will be considered “similar” if they clearly demonstrate the characteristics listed in criterion 1, as well as at least five other identified criteria listed below.”

Does “Criterion 1” refer to the first criteria listed on page 5 that states “Projects demonstrate the ESCO’s achievement of deep energy retrofit goals resulting in at least 30% energy use intensity (EUI) reduction”? If not, please clarify what “Criterion 1” is referring to.

Answer: See revised NOO removing the reference to criterion 1 as follows: “Projects will be considered “similar” if they clearly demonstrate at least five identified criteria listed below.”

5. Question: Please confirm that Federal, State and Local ESPCs are acceptable past performance projects?

Answer: Federal, State and Local ESPCs are acceptable past performance projects.

6. Question: If an Agency or State has a policy that they will not do written references but will do an oral phone reference directly with a GSA representative can that qualify as a

PPQ?

Answer: Unfortunately, we do not accept phone call interviews as a PPQ.

7. Question:With regard to Factor 3 – Price Factors, the overhead rate may vary between companies based on what roles they identify as project level costs (functions with labor rates and hours specifically assigned to the project) vs. overhead functions. In order to ensure an accurate comparison of the overhead rates, will GSA consider also asking the responding ESCOs to include a list of functions that will be assigned as project level costs rather than included in the overhead rate?

For example, if one company has Proposal Managers as a project level cost, their overhead rate should be lower than a company that includes that as an overhead function.

Answer: ESCOs are encouraged to provide any information necessary to support your proposed overhead rate.

8. Question:With regard to Factor 4 – item 1) Quoted Fee for Project Development Price, will the GSA consider providing an estimated or sample project size to base the fee percentage on? The percentage of the development costs can vary based on the project size due to the economies of scale. This way all bidders use the same project size reference point to allow for a fair comparison.

Answer: ESCOs shall use the project description and building information included in the NOO Attachment A - EOI Supplemental Data for each of the three potential projects as the basis of the proposed fee percentage.

For example, if the ESCO is proposing for NCR-1, the project size would be determined considering the objectives for the project and the discrete building list and utility information identified in the NOO Attachment A.

The same would be true if the ESCO is proposing for NCR-2 or Region 5.

9. Question: 19 June is a Federal Holiday (Juneteenth Day). Will there be a Government representative available to acknowledge receipt of proposals or would you consider moving the due date to 20 June?

Answer: The due date is changed to June 20, 2023. See the revised NOO.