The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has begun the acquisition effort for the third iteration of the Energy IDIQ contract (Energy IDIQ III). On March 22, USAID released an update to their RFI in the form of a Special Notice on SAM.gov announcing a Pre-Bidders Conference for the effort. The conference is currently scheduled for April 9th via the Google Meet video platform.

ENERGY IDIQ III Background

The energy challenge in developing countries is immense. Nearly two-thirds of people in some regions lack electricity, and global demand is expected to surge by 2040, with most of that growth happening in developing nations. USAID tackles this critical development issue by assisting partner countries in achieving and surpassing their goals for both energy access and climate change mitigation. The Energy IDIQ III effort is designed to provide technical assistance in the energy sector, helping partner countries with specific emphasis on:

  • Increasing access to modern energy sources
  • Using energy more efficiently
  • Building sustainable and climate-friendly energy systems
  • Achieving greater energy security

What We Know About ENERGY IDIQ III

A draft RFP has not been released but a draft Statement of Work (SOW) has been. Let’s take a quick look at those requirements.

First, the introduction to the SOW makes it clear that there will be limited opportunities for Task Orders that support what might be called traditional oil and gas projects. At the same time, there won’t be any restrictions on projects dealing with eliminating methane leaks or reducing methane leaks in the oil and gas sector and in coal mining. This is all in accordance with the USAID’s Climate Strategy for 2022-2030.

The SOW highlights several technical themes to include:

  • Climate change mitigation
  • Energy sector reform
  • Advanced technologies for utilities and customers
  • Energy sector resilience
  • Environmental and social justice

Each of these themes will have projects that will fall within a broad spectrum of 20 technical service areas to include:

  • Diversification and security of energy supply
  • Energy sector planning
  • Generation, transmission, and distribution projects
  • Finance and investments
  • Legal and regulatory reforms
  • Feasibility studies and environmental and social assessments
  • Improving utility performance
  • Energy efficiency
  • Decarbonization in buildings, transport, and industry
  • And others

The draft ENERGY IDIQ III SOW provides some insight as to the type of projects that can be expected on individual Task Orders. Items such as Greenhouse Gas emissions, environmental sustainability, public awareness, enhanced capabilities for regulatory agencies and utilities, and regulatory frameworks for competitive energy markets, among others.

What to Expect

It appears this will follow a more traditional approach with an RFP probably calling for the following volumes:

  • Technical approach (perhaps with a draft Task Order)
  • Management approach to include abilities to manage multiple,-diverse Task Orders
  • Corporate experience covering the broad range of the technical service areas mentioned above
  • Past performance on recent relevant contracts probably covering a broad range of project sizes
  • An Administrative volume for items like the solicitation document, representations and certifications, third-party certifications (ISO/IEC, etc.).

It’s unclear if ceiling-based pricing will be required or if pricing will be competed at the individual Task Order level.

The ENERGY IDIQ III is anticipated to have a ceiling just shy of $1.5 billion and will have competitions across the full range of business classifications to include a Small Business set-aside (SBSA)and full and open/unrestricted. There may also be certain areas that have partial set-asides based on socio-economic categories.

All work will be performed under NAICS 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services with a Size Standard: of $19.5 million annual receipts.

Next Steps for ENERGY IDIQ III

There are a few things you can do upfront to best position your organization for successfully competing for this IDIQ:

  • Begin assessing what recent projects you have performance for that cover any of the broad range of technical service areas mentioned in the draft SOW
  • Attend the April 9th Google Meet Pre-Bidders Conference
  • Perform a Proposal Readiness Review (PRR) to ascertain what information is needed and how the available information may be relevant and used
  • Determine the required staffing for your proposal team. Anticipate a total document size in the 75-100 page range with page limits imposed on some portions

How Can OCI Assist

OCI has consultants available to assist in all facets of your response.

  • A Proposal Readiness Review (PRR) will provide an independent assessment of your response capability, identifying your strengths and weaknesses and assisting in the development of a plan of action for success. This service is an approximate 40-hour level of effort (LOE).
  • We can provide the full range of staff augmentation from Proposal Managers to Coordinators to Technical Writers, as well as Editors, Desktop Publishers, and Graphic Artists.
  • We also specialize in providing full proposal development teams comprised of resources covering the full set of skills necessary to develop a winning proposal. This team will work closely with your technical team in all aspects of the response process.

Give us a call today at 703-689-9600 or please contact us here.