NNSA LOOKS TO BIDDERS FOR COST SAVINGS ON Y-12/PX SECURITY CONTRACT

The National Nuclear Security Administration expects significant cost savings from its decision to consolidate protective force contracts at the Y-12 National Security Complex, Pantex Plant and Oak Ridge Reservation, but NNSA officials say it’s too early to project how much money is expected to be saved. The agency announced that it was pursuing the consolidated contract earlier this month after deciding to strip protective force work from its planned merger of Y-12 and Pantex M&O contracts, but it is leaving the question of cost savings to potential bidders. NNSA officials touted potential cost savings of $895 million over 10 years upon deciding to combine the Y-12 and Pantex M&O contracts. “We do know we anticipate savings, but we won’t know for sure until we get the contract let and we complete the bidding,” Doug Fremont, the NNSA’s Chief of Defense Nuclear Security, told NW&M Monitor yesterday. “Part of the aspect of this model is to look for cost efficiencies and cost effectiveness running the program but right now there are many assumptions we looked at and there are just too many to be made right now to come up with an exact figure.”