Sources Sought Notice_Utilities Privatization_Final.pdf

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Title: Utilities Privatization Program Sources Sought Post Date: Friday, 15 November 2024 Sources Sought Response Date: Monday, 25 November 2024 at 12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) NAICS: 541620, Environmental Consulting Services Product Service Code: R499, Support-Professional: Other

1.0 SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

To facilitate market research, the Government is looking to identify qualified sources under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541620, Environmental Consulting Services. This notice seeks capability statements to assist the Government in identifying capable firms.

The Government is interested in getting a response from “all” interested concerns. Small business concerns are encouraged to submit a response: 8(a) Certified concerns, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) concerns, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), and Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) are encouraged to respond to this notice. Small businesses are defined based on the size standard associated with the NAICS code. For more information, visit: https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards, and check your size using the SBA Size Standards Tool: https://www.sba.gov/size-standards/index.html.

The Contracting Officer must determine if there is a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery in accordance with FAR 19.502-2(b) and FAR 19.203. When responding as a small business, please highlight any capabilities that will be performed through teaming arrangements (i.e., subcontracting, joint ventures, similarly situated entities, etc.).

The Contracting Officer will use the responses received from this notice to determine if it is appropriate to either solicit as a small business set-aside or an unrestricted competition through SAM.gov or an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) government wide contract vehicle (i.e., GSA FSS, etc.). If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, any competitive procurement that may result will be conducted as a small business set-aside.

This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this Notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by firms for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense (ODASD) Energy Resilience and Optimization (ER&O) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (OASD), Acquisition and Sustainment is responsible for ensuring that the Department of Defense (DoD) maintains a secure, resilient, safe, reliable, and efficient utility/energy infrastructure, and that energy and water commodities are procured in a cost-effective manner compliant with current laws and regulations.

DoD’s utilities have historically been undercapitalized and many systems have become unsafe and unreliable. In this environment, the Military Services must find an optimal approach for improving their utility systems to include energy resilience and cybersecurity requirements within resource constraints, applicable laws and regulations. United States Code Title 10 Section 2688 gives the Services the authority to privatize utility systems if the conveyance provides a long-term benefit to the United States.

This requirement will focus on providing support to ODASD(ER&O) in executing the Utilities Privatization (UP) Program, related energy/utility authorities and utility commodity rate structures, through historical knowledge, utilities privatization expertise, related utility authorities and utility commodity rate expertise, maintaining existing program databases and developing best practices or lessons learned documents/reports and assist the Government in drafting new policy and guidance.

3.0 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this requirement is to provide strategic support for ODASD(ER&O’s) management of utilities and energy programs with particular emphasis on maintaining and monitoring Military Service execution of UP contracts, other energy/utility authorities contracts to include utility commodity rates, recording lessons learned or best practices and developing and implementing metrics for measuring the success of these areas in supporting mission readiness. This includes assisting the Government in developing/revising policy and guidance to address new legislation, executive orders, or concerns discovered through metrics or lessons learned analysis.

4.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at the contractor facility and the Pentagon or Mark Center (Washington, D.C) as required.

5.0 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

All submissions must include verifiable information about its firm’s ability to comply with the security requirements for this effort.

Minimum Facility Clearance Required: SECRET

If the firm does not hold the required facility clearance, the firm shall provide a response if interested and indicate that no facility clearance is held.

For interested Joint Ventures (JV), the firm shall indicate if the JV itself or the individual partner(s) to the JV hold the required facility clearance.

NOTE: WHS/AD does not sponsor any clearances.

6.0 SUBJECT AREAS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES

Firms submitting a response to this Notice should include a capability statement covering technical and staffing experience for performance of the below four UP subject areas. Responses for each subject area should include information to demonstrate how the firm’s recent experience (with the last 7 years) is relevant to the subject areas listed including the dollar value, period of performance, size and scope of the firm’s prior contracts.

Four UP Subject Areas:

1. Describe your firm’s experience to assist the DoD in applying and implementing the laws, regulations, policies and strategies that govern DoD's utilities privatization program.

2. Describe your firm’s experience to assist the DoD with implementing a utilities privatization action. Explain how your firm can assist in implementing DoD objectives for utilities privatization. What are the critical elements that must be incorporated in a utilities privatization action? Explain their nexus, as well as your firm’s experience regarding the policies driving their inclusion and the processes used to integrate them into a utilities privatization program.

3. Describe your firm’s experience to assist the DoD with providing appropriate governance of the utilities privatization program. Explain key attributes and related law, regulation and policies for each.

4. Describe your firm’s experience to assist the DoD with developing and implementing utilities privatization policy and guidance. Explain the key actions needed; in doing so, provide the core stakeholder organizations and their equity in each action.

7.0 SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES

If there are subject areas where your firm does NOT have experience, explain how you would attain that experience. (Example: If you anticipate utilizing subcontractors, please highlight for which specific subject area and the percentage of subcontracting contemplated to fulfill the requirement.)

Also, identify the subject area(s) that you will perform as a prime contractor, and the subject area(s) that your firm will collaborate with a subcontractor (i.e. small business) (if applicable). Explain the reason for performing the subject area as a prime and/or collaborating with a subcontractor, i.e. teaming arrangements and or joint ventures.

This information will assist the government in establishing a basis for developing set-asides and/or subcontracting opportunities, if necessary.

8.0 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Interested firms should respond by submitting a capability statement addressing the firm’s experience in the four UP subject areas, security clearance status and staffing. The information provided should demonstrate how the firm’s recent experience (within the last 7 years) is relevant. It is highly recommended that firms include as much of the following information as possible when discussing past experience:

• contract type (FFP, CPFF, etc.),

• contract award amount,

• contract number,

• period of performance, and

• Government or Commercial Point of Contract name and email address, if any.

CONFIDENTIALITY: Do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in your response to this Source Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. Responses to this Notice will not be returned.

9.0 CAPABILITY STATEMENTS

There is a maximum page limitation of ten (10) typed pages using 12-inch Times New Roman font within an 8.5 x 11 inches page size. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, general capabilities statements, etc.) will not be reviewed. No hard copy or facsimile submissions will be accepted.

To facilitate a timely and comprehensive review of all submitted responses, firms must respond using the format requested in this Notice. ANY deviation from this format may lead to the rejection of the response.

Interested firms shall submit their response to include requested information in the following order:

General Information:

PART 1: General Information

1. Company name, address, point of contact name, telephone, and email address

2. SAM.gov Unique Entity ID and Commercial and/or Government Entity (CAGE) Code o Please note in order to do business with the U.S. Government as a prime contractor your firm must be registered in SAM.gov by the time of award of any resultant contract.

3. Business size and socioeconomic categories as defined in FAR Part 19 (e.g., 8(a), SDB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.)

4. Current DoD Facility Security Clearance level and status (active or not active)

5. Whether the firm desires to participate in this requirement as a prime contractor, teaming agreement, subcontractor, or joint venture.

o If applicable, potential proposed teaming arrangements must include business size and classification of prime and subcontractors o Identify which, if any, critical task areas you plan to utilize small business teaming partners and/or subcontractors.

6. Indicate if your firm will submit a quote or proposal if a Request for Quote/Proposal is issued

7. Recommended NAICS code and/or PSC code for this effort with justification

8. Recommended Contract type for this effort with justification

9. GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Number

10. Identify if your firm has is a holder of an IDIQ or BPA contract vehicles related to the scope of this requirement and provide the contract number

PART 2: Technical/Staffing Experience:

1. Provide information to support the firm’s experience in the four UP subject areas o For any subject area where your firm does NOT have experience on a commercial or government contract to demonstrate those capabilities, explain how you would attain those abilities.

o If you anticipate utilizing subcontractors, please indicate which subject area and the percentage of subcontracting contemplated to fulfill the requirement)

2. Evidence of experience and past performance must include contracts/task orders from the past seven (7) years similar in scope

3. Examples must include contract numbers, project titles, contract type, contract award amount, periods of performance, and Government points of contact (telephone numbers or email addresses)

4. Documented information to support the firm’s ability to provide personnel at the secret level, are United

States citizens, and have the ability to work within 100 miles of the National Capital Region (NCR)

PART 3: Supplemental Information (Will not count toward the page limit):

1. Identify any information that is or may be unduly restrictive to small business

2. Are there any subject areas you see as moderate to high risks in providing the support services requested?

3. Please indicate how much time your firm would need to prepare a response to a Request for

Quote/Proposal

10.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted electronically to Mr. Warren (Trey) Arthur, Contracting Officer at warren.g.arthur.civ@mail.mil and Ms. Julie Washington, Contract Specialist, julie.m.washington4.ctr@mail.mil. Capability statements to this Sources Sought Notice are due no later than Monday, 25 November 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Capability statements received after this date and time will not be considered.

The subject of the email must be titled “Utilities Privatization Program - <Name of Your Firm: Business Size>”

No questions or phone calls will be accepted concerning this Sources Sought Notice. All firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice are advised the Government will not provide feedback to firms with respect to any information submitted, or provide any follow-up or status information well after the deadline of this Sources Sought Notice.