Q A_(Draft)_.docx

This is not an official Q&A for any official Government Procurement. It’s the Government's intent to talk through potential scenarios, and as such, we have developed a Q&A for some ideas that may or may not work. Should this Q&A materialize and be issued at a later date with a potential procurement (potentially a Basic Ordering Agreement), it’s the Governments intent that it would "live & change" with the life of a BOA RFP (5 years). Should the Government intend to issue a subsequent RFP in an official capacity, feedback on any potential flaws in the Q&A is appreciated. Presently, the Q&A represents "talking points" that may, or may not potentially pertain a future BOA procurement.

1. Question: What is a BOA?

Answer: Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) is a written instrument of understanding, negotiated between an agency, contracting activity or contracting office and a contractor that contains the following:

a. Terms and clauses applying to future contract orders between the parties during its term

b. A descripton, as specific as practicable, of supplies or services to be provided; and

c. Methods for pricing, issuing and delivering future orders under the BOA.

The BOA is not a contract it is an agreement.

2. Question: How is this BOA different than how DLA Energy has procured RECs in the past years?

Answer: The difference is the acquisition contract vehicle used. DLA Energy’s decision to utilize a BOA in 2015 vs. the Purchase Order DLA Energy used to issue in past years is largely attributed to how DLA Energy’s customers were paying for their RECs. Due to the evolution of electronic payment systems, it is no longer reasonable to for DLA Customers (installations purchasing RECs under prior DLA Contracts) to manually submit the DLA Contract to their individual payment office as a vehicle for Contractor payment. Instead, offices were creating a separate order off of DLA Energy’s Purchase order. The BOA allows DLA Energy Customers to create their own order, thereby mitigating any payment or contract duplication infractions.

3. Question: What is the difference between orders DLA Energy executes for RECs under this BOA compared to the orders issued by the individual installations themselves under this BOA?

Answer: DLA Energy will continue to service those agencies which can manually submit the DLA contract alone as a method to produce payment by their agency. For those DLA customers who have the authority to order off the BOA that cannot use the DLA written order as the sole means of requirements request and payment, they shall solicit, write, and award their own Purchase Order utilizing the terms and conditions of the DLA managed BOA.

4. Question: What Agencies can use the BOA?

Answer: Only the authorized agencies identified by DLA Energy as issued in the BOA,

5. Question: How does an Agency become an authorized user of the BOA?

Answer: A request shall be submitted to DLA Energy and they will issue a package for completion which will include –

a. Proof of their certificate of appointment or designation as the Government Purchase Card (GPC) holder, with supervisory sign off

b. Statement of Understanding for ordering official’s responsibility

c. Contracting Officer Representative (COR) designation letter (optional) Upon successful completion and submission of the required materials, the requesting agency will be added to the authorized list.

6. Question: How does an Agency become an authorized user of the BOA after it is established?

Answer: Please refer to the response in question 4. DLA Energy is the only Government agency authorized to modify the agreement.

7. Question: Where does the Agency get the order number from?

Answer: DLA Energy MUST be the only entity to issue the order numbers in an effort to establish a complete set of orders by issuing numbers (PIINS) in sequential order and ensuring the BOA ceiling is not breached.

8. Question: Who do I send my funds to or MIPR money to?

Answer: The DLA Energy Office does not handle Purchase Requests or money directly from Government Agencies. Individual Agencies approved to utilize this BOA must work with their appropriate Contracting Office to produce a Delivery Order and arrange with their Agency's payment office for payment to the BOA Holder.

9. Question: Can I purchase items that are not identified on the BOA, Section B.

Answer: No, Agencies cannot purchase items that are not defined in the BOA. If the market, or Government Goals change over the course of the life of the BOA, please send a request to dlaenergy.eteam@dla.mil and DLA Energy will consider the request.

10. Question: What part of the FAR does this REC BOA fall under?

Answer: RECs under this BOA are commercial items awarded under FAR Part 12. Fair Opportunity requirements in FAR Part 16.505 govern in regards to how quotes are solicited and how award selections are made.

11. Question: A protest is not authorized in connection with the issuance or proposed issuance of a purchase order except for a protest on the ground that the order increases the scope, period, or maximum value of the contract under which the order is issued.; will there be an Ombudsman?

Answer: Yes. According to FAR 16.505(b)(1)(8) the head of the agency shall designate an ombudsman. The ombudsman must review complaints from contractors and ensure they are afforded a fair opportunity to be considered, consistent with the procedures in the contract. The ombudsman must be a senior agency official who is independent of the contracting officer and may be the agency’s advocate for competition.

12. Question: Is there an opportunity for Small Business set-asides for solicitations referencing the BOA?

Answer: No. At this time the most applicable NAICS codes is 221115. However, all known REC marketers are not engaged in operating the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric energy. All business sizes will be considered.

13. Question: Can any vendor become a BOA holder at any time?

Answer: DLA Energy will not limit qualified offerors from submitting a proposal during the 5-year life of the BOA. The RFP for REC BOA holders will be posted on FedBizOps open and continuously.

14. Question: Is Government Purchase Card Payment authorized and accepted by all vendors?

Answer: Yes.

15. Question: Can the Requesting Agency contact the BOA holders directly?

Answer: Yes, each agency that orders on their own due to an inability to manually use a DLA written order to purchase and pay for this commodity will be required to write their own order. However, it’s recommended that all REC purchases be made on a semi-annual basis in effort to get a “bulk” discount. Otherwise, when sourced outside of the semi-annual schedule, the requesting agency should expect REC prices to be 50-100% higher than when purchased at the same time as the rest of the requesting activities.

16. Question: Are there any limits to the dollar amount ordered?

Answer: Yes, there is a BOA ceiling that we, collectively cannot exceed. Each BOA holder will have a $9.5M ceiling. However, the DLA Energy Program Guidelines require each order to be reported to the DLA Energy BOA POC Contract Specialist in order to receive a PIIN and ensure the BOA ceiling will not be in breach.

17. Question: Are Agencies permitted to use multiple NAICS codes to specify the type of REC being purchased?

Answer: No. Guidance is to select the single NAICS code that best represents the principal nature of the acquisition for that order (i.e. the component that accounts for the greatest percentage of contract value).

18. Question: Will “OLD” and “NEW” RECs be available for purchase?

Answer: Pursuant to the March 19, 2015 release of Executive Order – Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, E.O. 13423 was revoked and there is no longer an option for RECs from facilities online after January 1, 1991 or January 1, 1999. Therefore, the previous version of “OLD” and “NEW” RECs no longer exists. The new definition of a REC maintains that it must be produced by sources of renewable energy placed into service within 10 years prior to the start of the fiscal year.