June 30, 2014

DOE Releases Draft RFP for New Oak Ridge TWPC Contract

By ExchangeMonitor

The Department of Energy yesterday issued for industry comment a draft Request for Proposals for the new contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The contract, which is being set aside for small businesses, is set to run for up to five years. The contract will have a three-year base period and two years of options that could include work to either keep the TWPC is a “warm standby” mode or to prepare it for “cold standby.” The contract will be largely firm fixed-price, though a cost-plus-award-fee approach will be used for waste processing operations, according to the draft RFP.

For key personnel, the draft RFP only lists one position—Program Manager. If a Program Manager leaves before completing a two-year commitment, DOE can reduce the winning contractor’s fee by $200,000, according to the draft RFP. Any other changes in key personnel ahead of a two-year commitment can lead to a fee reduction of $100,000. DOE is proposing to evaluate bids for the new contract on the basis of four criteria—1. Past Performance; 2. Technical Understanding and Approach; 3. Key Personnel and Organizational Structure; and 4. Relevant Experience. “Criterion 1 and Criterion 2 are significantly more important than Criteria 3 and 4,” the draft RFP says. Comments on the draft RFP are due by July 14.

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