Fort Jackson Electric and Natural Gas Utility Services

Agency/Office: DLA Acquisition Locations Location: DLA Energy Title: Utility Services for the Electric Power Distribution and Natural Gas, Utility Systems at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Description: The Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy), in conjunction with the United States Army, seeks to identify and obtain information from responsible sources in connection with the privatization of the following utility systems: electric (NAICS 221122), and natural gas (NAICS 221210) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Utility Services (US) is defined as the conveyance of a utility system to a municipal, private, regional, district, or cooperative utility company or other entity and award of a utility services contract. The conveyance may consist of all right, title, and interest of the United States in the utility system(s) in accordance with 10 U.S.C. - 2688 -Utility Systems: Conveyance Authority. A utility services contract will be awarded using FAR Part 41. It is intended that the utility services contract will reduce the Government's life cycle costs. The resulting contract will include the ownership interest, operation, and maintenance of the system(s). The new owner shall operate and maintain the system(s) and provide utility services to the Government. The Contractor/System Owner shall furnish all management, supervision, permits, equipment, supplies, materials, transportation, and any other incidental items or services required for the complete ownership and provision of utility services by the use of these utility systems being privatized, including operation, maintenance, repair, upgrades, and improvements to the utility systems. All responsibility for maintaining reliable service, including such items as environmental compliance, maintenance costs, major system renovations, construction, equipment, manpower, and overhead costs shall become the responsibility of the new utility system(s) owner(s). The system(s) owner(s) shall manage the maintenance, repairs, and replacement of the system(s) to ensure continuous, adequate, and dependable service for each Government or tenant connection within the service area. The system(s) owner(s) shall be responsible for funding all capital investments required to acquire, maintain, and operate the utility system(s) in a safe, reliable condition and to meet the requirements listed in the contract(s). This is a Sources Sought Notice (hereinafter "Notice"). This Notice is an essential step in determining market interest and feasibility in accordance with FAR Part 10 and is for information and planning purposes only. This Notice is solely for the Government's use as a market research tool. This Notice does not constitute a request for proposals, a solicitation, or a request for quotes. If determined appropriate, then both a synopsis and a solicitation may be anticipated in the Jan-Feb 2016 time frame. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a response to this Notice. All information received will be considered. Failure to respond to this Notice does not preclude a firm from offering on any resultant solicitation; however, a lack of interest in this requirement may keep this effort from moving forward competitively. The potential opportunity for set-asides for small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses will be considered on the basis of the responses received. Other-than-small businesses are required to submit a subcontracting plan with their offer. Interested sources may contact the POCs below to be added to our offeror mailing list. This Notice shall not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur costs in anticipation of an award. Interested parties should provide a statement of interest on company letterhead by no later than 4:00 pm ET on November 2, 2015. Responses are preferred via email, but hard copies will also be accepted. If the statement of interest will be provided via hard copy, please notify the primary or secondary point of contact listed below in advance to ensure receipt. At a minimum, the statement of interest shall address the following criteria: (1) capability and experience in the ownership and/or leasing, operation, and maintenance of electric and/or natural gas systems; (2) financial capacity with regard to leasing or ownership interest, expansion, and operation of utility systems; (3) understanding of any applicable state or local utility law or franchise requirements, and capability of com complying with such requirements; (4) understanding of the federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations and its familiarity and experience with environmental compliance procedures and regulations for the state of South Carolina; (5) a primary point of contact, including phone number and email address; (6) business size (other-than-small, small, or any subcategory of small business) relative to the NAICS codes 221122 and 221210; and (7) status as a regulated or non-regulated utility (if non-regulated please state, to the extent known, whether regulation will be sought if awarded a contract). This requirement will be unrestricted. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit an offer. Real property interests will be conveyed in the form of an Easement or a Right-of-Access. The utility system(s) will be conveyed via a Bill of Sale upon award of the contract(s). Past Performance information from potential offerors shall be submitted as directed in the solicitation. If you are interested in this effort, please provide the information requested above to the DLA Energy Contracting Office. Installation Description Established in June 1917, Fort Jackson (the Installation), first known as the Sixth National Cantonment and later as Camp Jackson, has become the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the United States Army. Established to answer America's call for trained fighting men in the early, ominous days of World War I, Fort Jackson has always served as the Army's pioneer in the training environment. Named in honor of Major General Andrew Jackson, a native son of the Palmetto State and the seventh president of the United States, Fort Jackson, which is located in the heart of the midlands region of South Carolina, was incorporated into the city of Columbia (the City) in 1968. The Installation's primary mission is providing the Army with trained, disciplined, motivated and physically fit Soldiers who uphold the Army's core values and are focused on teamwork. Succeeding in that mission means training in excess of 36,000 basic training and 8,000 advanced individual training Soldiers every year. Fort Jackson is home to the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute, the U.S. Army Chaplains Center and School, and the National Center for Credibility Assessment. It also is home to the Army's Drill Sergeant School, which trains all active and Reserve instructors. The Installation encompasses more than 52,000 acres of land with more than 100 ranges and field training sites and 1,160 buildings. Soldiers, civilians, retirees, and family members make up the Fort Jackson community that continues to grow in numbers and facilities. The Installation is home to more than 3,500 assigned active duty Soldiers and their 12,000 family members. Fort Jackson employs almost 3,500 civilians and provides services to more than 46,000 retirees and their family members. An additional 10,000 students attend courses at the Soldier Support Institute, Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center, the National Center for Credibility Assessment and Drill Sergeant School annually. Fort Jackson has a significant economic impact on the local area, contributing $2.6 billion annually to the local economy. In addition, over 100,000 family members visit the Columbia area each year to attend basic training graduation activities, using local hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas. Secure Documents It is anticipated this requirement will be an unrestricted, competitive action. As such several of the solicitation documents will be posted as "secured" on the Federal Business Opportunities ("FedBizOpps" or "FBO") website. In order to view those documents, vendors will need to obtain special access. The process of obtaining access is somewhat lengthy, therefore all interested vendors are encouraged to begin that process as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining access are provided below. Instructions for access to the FBO Secure Site To access the secured, but unclassified, documents in the FBO system, vendors must follow these instructions: - 1. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. For assistance with SAM, please contact the SAM help desk. Contact information is available at https://www.fsd.gov/. - 2. Once registered in SAM, go to the FBO website at https://www.fbo.gov/ and log in. Verify your SAM registration within the FBO system. For assistance with FBO, please consult the FBO Vendor Guide, which is available at https://www.fbo.gov/downloads/FBO_Vendor_Guide.pdf. - 3. After your SAM registration is verified in the FBO system, please follow the steps as outlined below: - a) Begin by clicking on the secured document link, which should then provide you with the corresponding link for the DD Form 2345, Military Critical Technical Data Agreement. The DD2345 is also available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/JCP/forms/DD2345Form.pdf. - b) Fill out the DD 2345 and submit a hard copy of the original form, together with all required documentation, to the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS), U.S./Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP), at the address listed on the form. - c) JCP will return an approved and signed certified form, which will include your certification and expiration date. Please note that delays may be incurred if forms and/or required documentation are incomplete or incorrect. - d) For assistance with the DD2345, or to inquire about the acceptability of electronic provision of documentation, please contact the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Office, DLIS. Contact information is available at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/team.aspx. DLA Energy is not involved in the approval process and cannot provide assistance with processing. - e) Once approval is received, it can take up to 24 hours for the JCP information to reach all systems. NOTE: A JCP certification must be completed by each person who will be retrieving information from FBO secure packages - 4. Once you receive the approved DD2345 from JCP, and have verified your status on the JCP website, enter the FBO system and click on the secure document link. The FBO system will require you to enter your MPIN. If you are not prompted to enter a MPIN, please contact the FBO help desk. Contact information can be found at https://www.fsd.gov/. - a) The MPIN is a mandatory data element created by the SAM registrant which must have nine characters [consisting of at least one letter (upper or lower case) and one number, with no spaces or special characters permitted] - b) The MPIN allows access to related acquisition systems (i.e. ORCA and PPIRS). It also validates access to sensitive, but unclassified, documents associated with a notice posted to FBO. - 5. Following verification of the MPIN in FBO, vendors must then submit a request for explicit access to the secure documents through the FBO system by clicking on the secure document line, then clicking the "Request Explicit Access" button. Upon requesting explicit access in the FBO system, vendors should send an email notification to the DLA Energy personnel assigned to the procurement, so that they can approve the request in the FBO system. Vendors will receive an email once the access request has been approved by DLA Energy. Once the MPIN has been verified in the FBO system, and explicit access has been granted, vendors will be able to enter the system and view the secure documents. Contracting Officer: Vicki Warner Vicki.Warner@dla.mil Phone: (703)-617-1509 Ms. Tricia Castillo Tricia.Castillo@dla.mil Phone: (703) 617-1512 Contract Specialists: Ms. Nikki Hession Nikki.Hession@dla.mil Phone: (703) 617- 1493 Contracting Office Address: Defense Logistics Agency 8725 John J. Kingman Road, STP 10400 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221