Two Tennessee-based firms, RSI Entech and Professional Project Services (Pro2Serve), appear set to keep their technical support business for the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) through the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a source said Thursday the Energy Department appears to be moving ahead with plans for a consolidated technical and administrative support contract for the PPPO complex by asking certain prior bidders to file a best and final offer by March 1.
The Energy Department said in a Jan. 11 notice of intent it expects to negotiate an agreement to keep RSI on from April 1 through the end of 2019. The nine-month extension at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio would be worth between $9 million and $10 million, DOE said.
RSI “possesses the necessary approved programs, policies, procedures and certified personnel for performing the oversight required by this contract,” according to the notice. The contractor kept 97 percent of its maximum fee for technical services at Portsmouth for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2018.
The Energy Department on Jan. 11 issued a nearly identical notice of intent to extend Pro2Serve’s contract from April 1 through the end of the year for technical support services at the Paducah Site in Kentucky. The estimated dollar value of the nine-month extension would be between $7.5 and $8.5 million.
Both companies’ contracts were initially due to expire last summer, but they received initial extensions through March.
The Energy Department previously indicated its intention to enter into a similar arrangement to keep New Mexico-based Strategic Management Solutions on as the provider of technical support services for conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) at both Portsmouth and Paducah for the same nine-month period. The SMS extension is valued at between $7 million and $9 million.
An official with one of the three companies said he submitted the required information to DOE a few days ago and expects the agency to take some type of action by the end of the month.
Last year, the agency sought to replace the three current technical support contracts for Portsmouth, Paducah, and the DUF6 conversion operation at both sites with one consolidated award covering administrative support, information technology infrastructure, and technical engineering. Those are basically the same services being provided in the individual contacts. However, a five-year consolidated contract valued at $137 million, awarded last June to a Pro2Serve unit, was withdrawn after a bid protest.
