The Energy Department said Thursday it plans to extend through Nov. 25 its landlord services contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state with Leidos-led Mission Support Alliance.
The current contract would otherwise expire on May 25. The agency will also retain the right to extend the site support services contract for a second six-month period, through May 25, 2021.
The award of a new long-term contract to another Leidos-led group faces a bid protest before the Government Accountability Office. The current deal will be extended only as long as needed for disposition of the protest and completion of the 120-day transition to the new Hanford Mission Essential Services vendor, DOE said.
The Energy Department press release did not indicate exactly when the first six-month extension would be signed, or how much six-to-12 months of additional work would be worth to MSA. A spokesperson for the vendor deferred any additional comment to the Energy Department.
In December, DOE awarded a potential 10-year, $4 billion contract to a team comprised of Leidos, Centerra, and Parsons. In January, a bid protest was filed by a venture led by Huntington Ingalls Industries. The GAO is expected to rule on the protest by late April.
The contract covers numerous site-wide tasks such as complex security, road maintenance, emergency services, record keeping, and information technology.
Mission Support Alliance, currently comprised of Leidos and Centerra, has a $4.6 billion contract dating to May 2009.
Incumbent Vendor Receives High Marks from Energy Department
The Energy Department also said Thursday that Mission Support Alliance earned more than 88% of its potential fee for fiscal 2019, $20.5 million out of $23.2 million.
The vendor took home $14.66 million of a potential $14.87 million for its objective, measurable work. It earned $5.85 million of $8.36 million in subjective fee, which is based more DOE’s assessment of contractor performance.
The Energy Department credited MSA with improved integration of site-wide safety standards for both the Richland Office and the Office of River Protection, the ethical compliance culture, and traffic safety improvements, according to the fee scorecard. By consolidating information technology infrastructure, MSA saved the Hanford Site roughly $1 million during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2019. The fee scorecard did not offer details on this accomplishment.
The agency also lauded the performance of the MSA-managed Hanford fire department during the Cold Creek blaze last July until U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crews arrived to take over. Firefighters “prevented the 42,000-acre fire from spreading to Hanford operational areas in the 200 West area,” DOE said.
While the Energy Department found no significant deficiencies, “schedule adherence and cost control” overall represent potential areas of improvement, according to the scorecard. It did not list any specific schedule or cost concerns during the period.
Last time around, MSA received almost $21 million of the potential $22.2 million, or roughly 94%, of total fee award for fiscal 2018.
