To allow time for competitive acquisition, DOE states intent to add $425M to NETL Research Support Services (RSS) contract

Notice ID: DE-SOL-0010762

• Contract Award Date: Jan 06, 2025
• Contract Award Number: 89243318CFE000003

The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e. sole source, limited competition, establishment of a new source, etc.This justification supports a noncompetitive increase to the value of the RSS contract from its current value of $774,901,131.00 to $1,200,000,000.00, an increase of $425,098,869.00. The increase will continue critical services required to maintain the integrity of the ongoing research and development, to include providing support to DOE’s NNSA in executing its national and nuclear security functions while NETL conducts a competitive acquisition for the follow-on requirement. Contract 89243318CFE000003 for RSS was awarded to Leidos, Inc. on June 25, 2018, with an effective date of December 31, 2018. The contract was solicited on an unrestricted, full and open basis, and awarded in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 15 procedures. The contract was awarded with a three-year base period (December 31, 2018, through December 30, 2021) with two two-year option periods (December 31, 2021, through December 30, 2023, and December 31, 2023, through December 30, 2025), and a three-year option period (December 31, 2025, through December 30, 2028) for a total of ten years if all options are exercised.The solicitation and resulting award explicitly stated the estimated total cost of the contract was not considered a ceiling value. Specifically, Section B.1, Services Being Acquired – Research Support Services expressed that the level of effort specified for the base period was the present level of effort estimated for the performance of work. The contract also states it is to be available for the Government to obtain services for the contract period (TERM), even if the level of effort and/or the estimated cost as originally specified is insufficient. During performance, unprecedented changes in programmatic requirements caused substantial increases in the number of Direct Productive Labor Hours (DPLH) identified for the Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN). Consequently, the estimated total contract value increased during the base period from $364,720,922.00 to $556,427,645.00 and during Option Period I from $556,427,645.00 to $562,480,588.00. Since then, the estimated contract value has increased to $774,901,131.00. The original estimated total contract value was based on competitive pricing where resource load information was provided within the Request for Proposal. This was established based on historical levels of effort available during the acquisition planning phase, years prior to the start of the contract. The difference between the new requested contract level of $1,200,000,000 and the original estimated total contract value is mostly attributed to the following: (1) a four-fold increase (~$575M) in requests to NETL from DOE NNSA, (2) higher than anticipated cost escalation and increase in foundational FECM and other DOE requests of NETL (+190M), and (3) addition of scope of research projects funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) authority ($70M).

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