Questions and Answers for SPE604-24-R-0403.pdf

Questions and Answers for Solicitation SPE60424R0403 22 Aug 2024

1. Question: Is the JAX account ITS Teco service? Is there a way to verify the specific meters and usage for all Florida accounts?

Answer: Line item 0033-01 NAS Jacksonville requires firm transportation to the delivery point, TECO citygate. The installation has multiple accounts both SIS and NCTS. SIS accounts are interruptible. See the response to question 29 for more information concerning NAS Jacksonville and NS Mayport.

Also see attachment 1 with 2-year monthly consumption history and meter counts for locations in Florida to include line items 0005, 0006, 0007, 0008, 0033, and 0034. The number of meters may change over the course of the period of performance. The estimated monthly quantities on the schedule pages for the Florida accounts are an average of the last 3 years of usage for each month.

2. Question: What are the billing requirements for Florida locations?

Individually billed, consolidated, etc.?

Answer: Multiple meters will be consolidated into a single monthly invoice. Billing methodologies are described at C700 Statement of Work par (m)(2) on page 8-9 of the RFP. Dual billing is the default methodology and consists of one invoice from the contractor and another from the LDC for distribution charges.

Dual billing is the default billing method unless stated otherwise on the invoice.

3. Question: Is DLA requesting a fixed or index price? The description mentions fixed pricing, but the location sheets show index.

Answer: The contract unit price is defined as the sum of the applicable supply index price (SIP) and adjustment factor (AF) per B700, Economic Price Adjustment – Market Price and Transportation on page 9 of the solicitation. The applicable index for the SIP is identified as SIP on the schedule page for each location. The adjustment factor is a seasonal fixed price per unit of product as defined in B700. Offerors must propose both a summer and winter adjustment factor on Attachment IV of the RFP to be eligible for award.

4. Question: Are we limited to pricing using the NYMEX monthly settlement, or can we be using the monthly SONAT/TRANSCO settlement in lieu of NYMEX?

Answer: See the response to item 3.

5. Question: Is the response to the RFP binding us to a commitment?

Answer: An offer once accepted by DLA is a binding contract.

DLA expects to hold discussions to clarify requirements prior to awarding contracts. Upon completion of discussions, DLA will allow offerors to submit final price revisions. These revisions may be conducted via reverse auction as described in provision L09 Reverse Auction on page 34 of the RFP.

6. Question: If the response goes beyond the initial phase of the RFP, will a specific list of meters be provided in FL and the AGL service area?

Answer: Meter information may be provided on a case-by-case basis if sufficient time is available to compile and communicate the information to offerors.

7. Question: Please confirm the expectation of a 6-month rollover after contract expiration.

Answer: Please refer to I209.09 Extension Provisions page 13 of the RFP. This clause is included to ensure continued operations at the locations included in the RFP that are vital to the functioning of the federal government and the Department of Defense. DLA intends to allow sufficient time for solicitation and award of any follow-on contract prior to completion of the period of performance. Should this not be possible and continued performance is necessary to continue operations, DLA may seek to extend the term of the contract per the clause however this is not preferred.

8. Question: Are there any monthly reporting requirements as a part of this business in addition to the typical billing statements?

Answer: Invoices are submitted on a monthly basis. DLA may request documentation supporting quantities or charges listed on each invoice to verify charges.

9. Question: Will DLA consider adding the OFO language listed in the schedule pages as listed in the DLA Northeast solicitation?

Answer: Please see the definitions of capacity curtailment and operational flow orders in C700, Statement of Work par (4), (5), and (6) on page 5 of the RFP. Capacity curtailment is “a limit to interruptible pipeline capacity beyond the control of the contractor that results in delivery of less than the ordered quantity of gas…”. Recall of released capacity “occurs when the original capacity holder on the pipeline recalls its capacity pursuant to previously prescribed and electronically published recall contract texts and provisions.” An operational flow order is a “type of direction, which merely requires a match of supply and demand during a given gas day for daily balancing purposes”. When referring to these terms, the definitions in the RFP are applicable to the situation regardless of the term used by the pipeline or local distribution company (LDC). Per C700 par (h), force majeure is the only excuse to performance for locations requiring firm delivery. For interruptible delivery, capacity curtailments and recall of released capacity are considered an excuse to performance. For locations behind an LDC, the delivery point is the citygate. The contractor is not responsible for performance during curtailments on the LDC system regardless of delivery type.

DLA does not intend to change the schedule pages to reflect the OFO language. Any changes to these terms would be incorporated via an amendment to the solicitation. Offerors may take exception to terms in the RFP with their offer. Refer to note

4 on page 3 addressing the inclusion of exceptions. Terms may be addressed during discussions.

10. Question: In reference to DFARS 252.204-7012, please confirm that the Government does not anticipate that it will provide contractors with any information categorized as CUI and that it does not anticipate the contractors will develop or generate any CUI performance during the contract?

Answer: There is no Critical Unclassified Information (CUI) contained in the solicitation. Any CUI must be clearly labeled as such. DLA does not anticipate contractors will need to generate CUI during performance of the contract.

11. Question: Reference to FAR 52.215-20, will DLA confirm FAR 15.403-1(b)(1) that the Government expects there to be adequate price competition and offerors will not be required to submit certified cost or pricing data?

Answer: Per 15.403-1, DLA will not require certified cost and pricing data as natural gas supply is a commercial product.

12. Question: Is Ft Jackson listed on the line item summary page?

Answer: Ft Jackson is included as a requirement in line item 0024 which requires offer of a single summer and winter adjustment factor for all installations listed in the line item. See the instructions on Att IV Line Item Summary Sheet for standalone customers stating “Submit a single winter adjustment factor and a single summer adjustment factor for each line item offered upon.”

13. Question: Can DLA provide daily meter reads available for Fort

Jackson? (0024-01), such as 24 months of daily meter reads to build accurate load profile.

Answer: See attachments 2 to 4 with historical daily meter reads for line item 0024 locations to include Ft Jackson.

14. Question: Please confirm that indicative pricing is due to technical responses on September 5, 2024.

Answer: Yes, per provision L705 Instructions to Offerors on pages 36 to 38 of the RFP, pricing must be submitted with any offer on the Attachment IV summary sheet. Failure to submit pricing will render an offer ineligible for award.

15. Question: Can DLA confirm the MDQs have been established yet under the new DESC rate 36s?

Answer: The MDQs under rate 36 are as follows:

Fort Jackson – 2900 dth Joint Base Charleston (Air Base) – 800 dth Shaw Air Force – 974 dth

16. Question: Please clarify whether suppliers will have the opportunity to refresh pricing.

Answer: Offerors must submit prices with their initial offerors to be considered for award. After initial evaluation of offers, DLA may open discussions. After close of discussions, offerors will be allowed to provide final price revisions. See RFP provision DLAD L09 Reverse Auction on page 34 of the RFP.

17. Question: In reference to Note 5, is DLA requesting specific documentation in response to the note?

Answer: Note 5, please refer to FAR 9.103, 9.104-1, 9.104-2, and 9.104-3. Documentation may be requested after receipt of initial offers if needed to support DLA’s determination of offeror responsibility.

18. Question: Please provide account list.

Answer: Lists of accounts for each location may be provided on a case-by-case basis if sufficient time is available to compile and communicate the information to offerors.

19. Question: Please clearly identify the billing method for all groups.

Answer: Please refer to C700 Statement of Work, para (m)(2) on page 40 to 41 of the RFP. This paragraph describes the following billing methodologies: Dual Billing, Contractor Consolidated Biling, LDC Consolidated billing. Dual billing is the default method. If dual billing is not used, the method for billing will be listed in the notes section of the schedule page. Each installation will require a separate monthly invoice.

20. Question: Please confirm if single billing behind a certain utility is unavailable and suppliers can dual bill.

Answer: See the response to question 18.

21. Question: Will DLA be able to divide the bid for Ft. Campbell into two parts to enable separate quotes for separate deliveries before and after the ANR tie in?

Answer: Currently, requirements for Ft. Campbell include a schedule page for delivery to the installation via Clarksville Gas and Water as well as Pennyrile Pipeline. Estimated requirements reflect the beginning of delivery to the installation via Pennyrile Pipeline in June 2026. Submission of separate summer and winter adjustment factors for delivery via Clarksville in effect before and after Pennyrile Pipeline is available may be made as an exception. See note 4 on page 3 of the RFP. Exceptions will be addressed during discussions and may result in an amendment to the solicitation to incorporate the terms.

22. Question: Are we able to modify the schedule page to terms that we were willing to supply natural gas under?

Answer: Further changes to requirements will be incorporated via amendment to the solicitation. Adjustments and terms can be addressed during discussions.

23. Question: For Atlanta Accounts (line items 0042, 0043, and 0044), many are listed as rate classes 311, 367, 511, 571, etc.. It looks like these are firm accounts from the context clues. Please provide clarification.

Answer: Line item 0042, Ft. Eisenhower has specified firm capacity as stated in note 4 on the schedule page. As such, the installation is interruptible on AGL but is firm on SONAT up the MDQ of 1,350 dths/day at and before the delivery meter Augusta 940016. See the response to question 27. Line item 0043, Moody AFB on an interruptible AGL rate and requires firm delivery to the citygate. See note 5 on the schedule page. All locations included in line item 0044 are under AGL firm service rate schedules. Schedule page references to rate classes 311, 367, 511, 571, etc. are AGL designations of premise type and are sub-classifications within the Rate Class. Please refer to the chart below for reference.

AGL Tariff Codes Tariff Code Customer Class Rate Schedule General Description

311 Commercial G-11 Small Commercial Regular 312 Commercial G-11 Small Commercial A/C 313 Commercial G-11 Small Commercial Heat Only 347 Commercial G-11 Small Commercial Regular 348 Commercial G-11 Small Commercial A/C 365 Multi-Family G-10 Multi-Family A/C 367 Multi-Family G-10 Multi-Family Regular 371 Seasonal S-51 Small Commercial Seasonal 511 Commercial G-11 Small Industrial Regular 512 Commercial G-11 Small Industrial A/C 513 Commercial G-11 Small Industrial Heat Only 547 Commercial G-11 Small Industrial Regular 548 Agricultural AG-1 Agricultural 571 Commercial G-12 G-12 Commercial G-12

R-1 Residential Delivery Service S-51 Seasonal Gas Service G-10 Multi-Family Housing Delivery Service- Optional V-52 Natural Gas Vehicle Delivery Service G-11 General Gas Delivery Service I-20 Annual Interruptible Service G-12 General Gas Delivery Service-Conditional I-21 Seasonal Interruptible Service AG-1 Agricultural Process Service I-22 General Interruptible Service

24. Will you provide 24 months of daily usage information for daily read meters, number of meters for each location, and rate classes behind

AGL?

Answer: Firm accounts behind AGL are read monthly based on billing cycle. DLA has requested customer-specific data for interruptible accounts will post this data as soon as DLA receives it from AGL.

25. Please explain language under clause C700 Statement of Work, paragraph (i)(2) concerning quantities accepted by the LDC on page 7 of the RFP.

Answer: Should gas be scheduled for delivery to locations in the DLA contract to the LDC, but ultimately the gas is used on the LDC’s system for locations other than those listed in the DLA contract, the contractor would be reimbursed for those quantities at the lesser of the contract unit price or the LDC cashout price. This is separate from excess quantities subject to cashouts which are covered under paragraph (j).

26. For AGL, do you have a DDDC cost you prefer for all pools (example

$8.50/dddc) or do you want this embedded in the process?

Answer: For DLA customers within AGL, the DDDC cost should be the customer-specific cost respective to that customer’s unique AGL capacity and pool within AGL. See note 2 for line item 0042, 0043, and 0044 schedule pages which states that contractor consolidated billing is required. Thus, DDDC charges applicable for each customer will be passed through on the contractor invoice.

27. Question: Fort Eisenhower (line item 0042) has Specified Firm Volumes of 1,350. Does this account come with upstream pipeline assets? If yes, how much volume/day, and what are the receipt and delivery points of the contract?

Answer: Yes, specified firm on the account includes upstream pipeline assets, specifically firm transportation on SONAT (interstate) and the AGL System (interstate). The volume is 1,350 dths/day. There are multiple receipt points at the production area and downstream. The delivery point is Augusta 940016.

28. Question: What is meant by Red River Army Depot’s (line item 0035) simple average 16-EOM methodology? Can this be changed to a Gas Daily Average or simple average 1-EOM methodology?

Answer: The overage/shortage methodology on the schedule page is the pricing mechanism referred to under delivery management option 3 (monthly order quantities) at C700 Statement of Work par (e)(3). This delivery option describes an alternate (swing) pricing methodology for gas deliveries outside of a 10% variance from the ordered quantity. Application of the pricing formula is described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii). The ordered quantity is placed by the installation at least 2 working days prior to the 25th of the prior month. If no order is placed, the order quantity defaults to the amount on the schedule page.

Terms and conditions may be addressed during discussions.

Changes to terms will be incorporated via amendment to the solicitation. DLA will consider input from offerors.

29. Question: What is implied by NAS-Jacksonville and Naval Station

Mayport (line item 0033) having a rate class of SIS/multiple NCTS?

The SIS rate schedule falls under the ITS rider. What monthly portion of the load is ITS and what portion is NCTS?

Answer: These installations have multiple meters under both SIS and NCTS accounts. For these locations, a majority of the small meters fall under general service categories 1 and 2. At NAS Jacksonville there are 3 steam plants that fall under SIS but these have not been interrupted in recent history. The steam plants are 77-80% of the monthly load. NS Mayport has one SIS account which is a steam plant and the load varies depending on mission requirements but usage has been minimal at 1-5% of total load for many years. DLA requires firm transport to the delivery point, TECO citygate.

30. Question: Will the price submission on Sept 5th be the final offer price or will additional pricing be requested?

Answer: See the responses to questions 5 and 16. Pricing must be included with offers to be considered for award. Upon completion of discussions offerors will be permitted to submit final price revisions.

31. Question: Does pricing offered need to remain valid for 120 days?

When will awards be made? Can we refresh pricing if award is to be made at a later date than proposal submission on September 5th?

Answer: Offers are valid for 120 days per the addendum to the solicitation on page 40 of the RFP, however as stated previously offerors will be afforded the opportunity to submit final price revisions upon completion of discussions. DLA will respond in a timely manner notifying successful offerors of DLA’s intent to award upon completion of final price revisions. In previous solicitations this has typically been within 2 business days.

32. Question: If an Extension is requested, will then current pricing be reviewed, or will the current contract pricing need to remain in place?

Answer: Per I209.09 on page 13 of the RFP, DLA may extend the contract under the current terms and conditions provided DLA notifies the contractor of its intent to extend the contract at least 45 days prior to the end of the period of performance. Please see the response to question 7 for additional information.