Brand Name Justification and Approval_Redacted.pdf

- 1 -

Control Number

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

UNDER FAR 13.5

DWA Square D Low Voltage Switchboard

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Walla Walla District (CECT-NWW), 201 North Third Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District has a requirement for the standalone purchase and start-up testing/commissioning of one switchboard, which will be used to reconfigure emergency power distribution at the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery. This commercial requirement, under the $7.5M threshold for FAR Part 13, includes a Brand Name Square D QED Switchboard for the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES/SUPPLIES: Contractor-supplied 480V, 2500A-rated Square

D QED electrical distribution switchboard equipped with Square D brand drawout NW MasterPact breakers that will be installed by the Government in a new electrical building to be constructed under a design-build contract currently in development.

4. AUTHORITY CITED:

A. FAR 13.106-1(b), Soliciting from a single source. (2) For purchases exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. The requirements at 13.501(a) apply to sole-source (including brand-name) acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services conducted pursuant to subpart 13.5.

B. FAR 11.105(a)(1), Items Particular to One Manufacturer. The particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government’s requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

A. BACKGROUND: The switchboard supplied under this J&A will be used to modernize the electrical distribution system at Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (DNFH). In particular, this switchboard will be used to distribute power from the transformers to a number of critical infrastructure components at the hatchery.

Square D QED switchboard is the standard switchboard product used at the Dworshak Project. The Dworshak National Fish Hatchery and the Dworshak Powerhouse currently have seven (7) switchboards and switchgear (which use the same breakers and other components) of this same model installed throughout the facility.

B. JUSTIFICATION: It is in the Government’s best interest to standardize electrical distribution equipment wherever possible. Standardization increases personnel efficiency and ensures electrical crews are familiar with the system, reduces training requirements, utilizes common test equipment, and ensures spare and replacement parts are available for emergency repair of critical systems.

- 2 -

Dworshak Project maintains a limited assortment of spare parts for the Square D QED switchboards in the powerhouse warehouse, such as circuit breakers, contactors, fuses, and switches, but this resource is not exhaustive. These components have been acquired by retaining components removed during 15 years’ worth of changes, upgrades, and modifications to the existing switchboards.

Matching the newly-installed equipment with the brand name, style, and ratings of existing switchboards provides for the ability to share components across systems at Dworshak project. The stock of spare parts referenced above is one potential source of shared components; borrowing components from a non-critical system to restore operation to a critical system is also another possibility.

C. IMPACT: Selection of a different brand or model of switchboard would introduce unnecessary and unacceptable risk to the reliable operation and timely repair of critical power generation, distribution, and fisheries production systems. Larger, more specialized parts used in each switchboard, such as control components, and breakers, are often not easily acquired off-the-shelf items, particularly in the current environment, which is experiencing significant supply chain delays. The time required to locate and acquire such items for a different style switchboard is likely to interrupt the operation of critical systems for months.

Procurement of a different style switchboard introduces additional costs to the Government and decreases efficiencies gained from standardization. For instance, Dworshak personnel will require additional training and different test equipment to perform maintenance and repair of other systems, and a larger variety of spare parts will be required to be stored and tracked in Dworshak’s size-limited warehouse.

Dworshak National Fish Hatchery depends on 100 percent reliable power for fish rearing life support. Such delays, without emergency remedy, would affect fish health and/or growth and may result in loss of brood stock and/or death of livestock in the rearing environment. Based on market research, other brands are upwards of 50 percent more expensive. Market research information, including data from Stoneway Electric, Interstate Electrical Supply, Graybar Electrical Company, and Aponte Power Services, was obtained from manufacturer websites by CENWW cost engineering.

D. ALTERNATIVES: Although there are similar, alternative products to the Square D QED, no reasonable alternatives exist for this action, due to the likely impacts of selecting a different brand or model discussed above. As such, there is only one source reasonably available for this requirement.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN AND INCREASE COMPETITION: In accordance with FAR

5.201, this notice will be published with the solicitation, and any quotes received shall be considered. There are multiple distributors of Square D QED switchboard equipment. Based on market research, (information from manufacturer’s websites conducted in May 2025, the following companies are known to supply Square D QED switchboard and provide start-up commissioning: Schneider Electric and DVM Power + Control.

7. MARKET RESEARCH: Market research indicates that similar products are available from other companies; however, they would not yield the standardization efficiencies described above in paragraph 5.b., “Justification”. It is essential to procure a Square D QED switchboard for