P03 - JA Schneider Electric EcoStruxure PME Final_Redacted.pdf

Schneider Electric EcoStruxure PME Control Number VA-25-00044239

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The Proposed action is for acquisition of brand name Schneider Electric (SE) EcoStruxure Power Monitoring Expert (PME) onsite software installation, perpetual licenses, maintenance and technical support.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for software installation, perpetual licenses, maintenance and technical support for brand name SE EcoStruxure PME software. SE EcoStruxure PME collects various system data from installed SE networked meters statically integrated throughout IO’s installed Data Center support system equipment. The contractor shall provide onsite software installation support and commissioning including Vista Screen Development (Main Menu) and Vista Screen Development (One-Lines), perpetual licenses, maintenance, and technical Support for EcoStruxure PME Software. The PME maintenance and technical support will include software updates, bug fixes, upgrade support during normal business hours ensuring the software continues to function as intended, and access to an SE Software Engineering contact possessing knowledge of IO’s Data Center metered architecture as well as expert knowledge of SE’s source code. Software updates will include major releases, point releases, and service releases on a quarterly basis, or within 48 hours in cases where a high-risk vulnerability fix becomes available.

Vendor shall provide 12 hours a day x 5 days per week email and online technical support including new product downloads. Vendor shall provide secure connection capabilities for the downloading of software updates and/or the uploading of diagnostic information. The period of performance will be 12 months from date of award. The total estimated price of the proposed action is .

4. Statutory Authority: In accordance with Federal Acquisition Requlation (FAR) 13.106- 1(b)(1), for purchase not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available. The requirements at FAR 13.501(a) apply to sole-source (including brand name) acquisitions for certain commercial products and commercial services pursuant to Subpart FAR 13.5.

5. Rationale supporting use of authority cited above: The VA, OIT, IO Data Center Engineering Database (ENDB) Information System is a highly integrated engineering sustainment project with various engineering analysis and configuration management application tools used specifically to support key infrastructure systems (Power and Cooling Systems) at each of IO’s Core Data Centers. As part of this integrated information system, the VA’s previously installed proprietary Schneider Electric (SE) meters must utilize SE’s EcoStruxure PME software to collect critical energy

Schneider Electric EcoStruxure PME Control Number VA-25-00044239 consumption, power quality, and load flow data. SE Ecostruxure PME software is the only software that can interface with currently installed proprietary SE meters. SE Software Engineering contact possessing knowledge of current data center metered architecture as well as expert knowledge of SE’s source code. The VA would have a financial impact of more than to replace meters and data centers as well as retraining all personnel. The additional cost would not be recovered if the VA had to use a product other than SE and this would not be advantageous for the VA. Only SE PME software/perpetual licenses, maintenance and technical support can provide accurate communication, collection of data, and support services from the SE meters ensuring to meet the VA’s interoperability and compatibility requirements. Finally, no other source but SE can meet the SE PME software installation, maintenance, and technical support due to the proprietary system architecture and software intellectual properties required for this requirement.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the market place that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research: The Government’s technical experts conducted market research by reviewing other similar software. This market research is an ongoing process starting in 2022 and continuously being conducted, as recently as January 2025. Due to the proprietary nature of the firmware necessary to collect data from SE meters, Siemen’s Inc. or ABB Inc. software will not communicate with the currently installed SE meters.

The anticipated cost and timeline of replacing VA’s currently utilized SE meters, it is most advantageous and econcomical to purchase SE software which provides the compatibility and can interface with the VA’s current proprietary SE meters. Based on the above only SE can meet the governments requirements.

The Contract Specialist (CS) conducted additional market research in March 2025 by reviewing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) provider, resulted in 152 responses. Furthermore, General Services Administration was reviewed and found there are 1 SE software and maintenance support on the schedule. Additionally SAM.gov yielded that one award has been made to SE and all other notices were for subcontractors. The CS reviewed multiple resellers under NASA SEWP GWAC and GSA E-Library and found the resellers provided SE extended warranties, power/cooling services, and batteries, however we could not confirm that the multiple resellers could provide the EcoStruxure PME Software and support. A letter date March 10th, 2025 from SE, Inc. stated SE software installation, perpetual licenses, maintenance, and technical support are sold and distributed exclusively by SE, Inc. Based on the above, only SE can meet all the Government’s requirements.