Washington Utility Group

B-266333 Jan 29, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The successful offeror is to provide approximately 8. The contractor will provide DOE with investment advice and managerial services in support of the program. The awardee will draft and issue solicitations seeking proposals for renewable energy projects to be funded by DOE. The awardee will conduct discussions with firms seeking financial assistance regarding their applications. The contracting officer's cover letter to the RFP notified offerors as follows: "Award of the contract will be subject to the [OCI] clearance of the selected offeror in accordance with Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) Sec. 909.570-5. All offerors are required to submit the OCI information using the questionnaire provided [as an attachment to the RFP]. View Decision Matter of: Washington Utility Group File: B-266333 Date: January 29, 1996 Agency properly excluded protester from competition for support services where contracting officer reasonably determined that professional or business relationships disclosed by the protester and a proposed subcontractor had the potential for impairing the protester's ability to provide objective and impartial advice to the agency. Attorneys DECISION The Washington Utility Group (WUG) protests the rejection of its proposal under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-RP01-95EE16102, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for support services. The contracting officer excluded WUG from further participation in the procurement based on her conclusion that WUG had an unavoidable organizational conflict of interest (OCI). [1] We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 require DOE to implement the "Commercialization Ventures Program." Under that program, DOE provides financial assistance to firms developing a broad range of renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy and biowaste conversion. The RFP, issued May 19, 1995, contemplated the award of a cost-plus-fixed-fee, level-of-effort contract for a base year and up to two 1-year option periods. The successful offeror is to provide approximately 8,835 direct labor hours per year in support of DOE's Commercialization Ventures Program. The contractor will provide DOE with investment advice and managerial services in support of the program. Contractor responsibilities include assisting DOE in various capacities, including performing acquisition support functions, evaluating proposals, brokering, and monitoring of renewable energy projects. In performing the acquisition support functions contemplated under the contract, for example, the awardee will draft and issue solicitations seeking proposals for renewable energy projects to be funded by DOE. The awardee will conduct discussions with firms seeking financial assistance regarding their applications; evaluate both the pre-proposal applications and proposals; and ultimately recommend to DOE which projects should be funded. The contracting officer's cover letter to the RFP notified offerors as follows: "Award of the contract will be subject to the [OCI] clearance of the selected offeror in accordance with Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) Sec. 909.570-5. The applicable clause, DEAR Sec. 952.209-72, can be found in [s]ection I, [p]rovision I.1. All offerors are required to submit the OCI information using the questionnaire provided [as an attachment to the RFP]. Each proposer must disclose all potential conflicts of interest with respect to: (1) being able to render impartial, technically sound, and objective assistance and advice; and (2) being given, or having, an unfair competitive advantage." Six firms, including WUG, responded to the RFP by the June 19 closing date for receipt of initial proposals. A technical evaluation committee evaluated proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria and provided its report to the contracting officer on August 24. Based on those initial results, the contracting officer decided to include WUG's proposal within the competitive range and conduct written discussions with WUG. The discussion items DOE issued to WUG included extensive questions raised by WUG's OCI disclosure statement. The contracting officer reviewed WUG's responses to the OCI questionnaire included in the RFP and the answers to DOE's OCI discussion items. Based on her review of that information, the contracting officer determined that WUG's proposal presented an unavoidable OCI. Specifically, the contracting officer found that either WUG, its employees, or its proposed subcontractor had relationships with organizations and individuals directly involved in various aspects of different types of renewable energy technologies, which could prejudice WUG's advice to DOE.