Arlington County Government Sealed Solicitation
Title: 23-DES-RFP-230 Energy Services
Deadline: 10/17/2022 4:00 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Status: Awarded
Solicitation Number: 23-DES-RFP-230
Description: TO OBTAIN THE SERVICES OF FIRMS WITH THE CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE TO BUILD UPON THE COUNTY’S PRIOR EFFORTS AND TO SUPPORT THE COUNTY’S RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN A RIGOROUS, INNOVATIVE AND SUCCESSFUL MANNER ACROSS ALL CRITICAL SECTORS (BUILDINGS, TRANSPORTATION, RENEWABLE ENERGY, RESILIENCE, WATER/WASTEWATER, SOLID WASTE, AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT).
Pre-Bid Meeting Date: 9/7/2022 11:00 AM
Documents:
| Documents as of 8/23/2022 |
|---|
| 23-DES-RFP-230 Energy Services.pdf |
Addition 1
Posted: 9/7/2022
Type of Addition: Attendance Sheet & Minutes
Documents:
Addition 3
Posted: 10/19/2022
Type of Addition: In Review
Question 1
Posted: 9/7/2022
Question: Regarding RFP Clause 4: INTEREST IN MORE THAN ONE PROPOSAL, AND COLLUSION, the RFP states that: "Reasonable grounds for believing that an Offeror is interested in more than one proposal for a solicitation, including both as an Offeror and as a subcontractor for another Offeror, or that collusion exists between two or more Offerors, will result in rejection of all affected proposals." (a) Does "a solicitation" apply to this RFP, or to individual task order solicitations? (b) If the former, could a business respond as a Prime in one area, and as a sub-contractor in another? That would still seem to satisfy the intent of the clause. Thanks.
Response: Yes, it would satisfy the intent of the clause.
Question 2
Posted: 9/9/2022
Question: Will you be scoring firms overall or at the service area level or task area level?
Response: Offerors scored on proposal submitted. Per Section V-3a, Project Approach: Offerors may submit a proposal for an entire Section (e.g., Section A: Strategic Planning and Financing), a specific Service Area (e.g., Section A.3 Waste Reduction) or a specific Task Area (e.g., A.2.1. Community Choice Aggregation). Offerors must clearly identify by number and letter the Section(s), Service Area(s) and Task Area(s) for which they wish to be considered.
Question 3
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 1. Pg 5, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, II. Information For Offerors, 1. Solicitation Schedule. Seeing as the Contract Award date is listed as TBD, can the County provide an actual or estimated Period of Performance for the work under the Contract?
Response: Contract term could be up to 5 years.
Question 4
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 2. Pg 31, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 2. Proposal Submission. Should all Executed Forms and other documents be combined into one PDF file for submission or would the County prefer separate files. If separate files are preferred, please specify formats and file naming convention.
Response: PDF is fine.
Question 5
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 3. Pg 32, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 2. Mandatory Requirements. Would a statement that the Offeror does not take exceptions to mandatory provisions of the draft Contract Terms and Conditions that are attached to this solicitation be sufficient to meet the requirement of this section?
Response: Yes
Question 6
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 4. Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 3. Project Approach. Are there any page limitations to the Project Approach section?
Response: Project Approach should be limited to three pages.
Question 7
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 6. Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 4. Offeror’s General Qualifications and Experience, d. Credentials of the proposed team. Besides Project Manager, are there any prescribed roles that need to be filled as part of the Project Team?
Response: If the submission covers multiple sectors/categories/service areas and the expectation is to use more than one Project Manager to handle diverse projects, then the credentials for each Project Manager expected to lead County projects and, if relevant, any Project Director that any Offeror may assign to supervise Offeror's work for County.
Question 8
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 7. Pg 34, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 7. Project Cost. Will the County supply a preferred template or format for presenting cost information?
Response: No
Question 9
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 8. Pg 34, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 7. Project Cost. Should cost information be submitted in a separate file or in the same document as technical information?
Response: Either is fine.
Question 10
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 29, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, IV. Scope of Work, E. Task Order Assignment Procedure. Will offerors be allowed to add additional subcontractors post award at the task order level?
Response: Refer to Section II. Information for Offerors, Provision 12, Replacement or Augmentation of Key Personnel or Subcontractors on page 7.
Question 11
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 29, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, IV. Scope of Work, E. Task Order Assignment Procedure. Would two or more winning offerors be allowed to enter into a teaming agreement with each other post award at the task order level?
Response: We have already responded to this question. Please see Question 11.
Question 12
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 3. Project Approach. In response to a question regarding the page limitations to the Project Approach section, Arlington stated that there was a three-page limit. Does this refer to the entire Project Approach encompassing the four Sections and 11 Service Areas? If not, please specify page limits for the Sections and Service Areas.
Response: Two page limit per Service Area.
Question 13
Posted: 9/21/2022
Question: The answer to question 6 specifies the Project Approach should be 3 pages. Can you please clarify if that is 3 pages total, regardless of how many Sections/Services Areas/Tasks a company is responding to, or 3 pages per individual narrative? The RFP specifies “For *each* Section, Service Area or Task Area, the Offeror must submit a narrative" (emphasis ours).
Response: Two page limit per Service Area.
Question 14
Posted: 9/23/2022
Question: Is the three-page limitation on the Project Approach applicable to each section/task area we’re responding to or is our narrative across all section/task areas subject to a single three-page limitation?
Response: We have already responded to this question. Please see the public solicitation.
Question 15
Posted: 9/26/2022
Question: 1.) Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia? 2.) Does Arlington County expect each offeror to inspect each building within the County before submitting a proposal? 3.) Does Arlington County intend to provide EV Charging stations that will require a monetization requirement? 4.) Does Arlington County have any existing EV Charging Stations in place currently? If yes, what brand? 5.) Does Arlington County have any plans to support Fleet EV Charing in the near future? 6.) Can the Prime references we provide to Arlington County be other than Government installs?
Response: 1.)Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia? Refer to provision #20 Rider Clause on page 9 of the RFP. 2.) Does Arlington County expect each offeror to inspect each building within the County before submitting a proposal? No, not prior to submitting the proposal, but they should be prepared to include in their proposal their experience in different building use-cases, e.g., multifamily, government/institutional, retail, commercial - and the scope of their services including electrical audit, building inspection, and any required power source changes. 3.) Does Arlington County intend to provide EV Charging stations that will require a monetization requirement? Assuming this means whether we anticipate public-use/ROW charging that will have a charging rate attached to it, yes. 4.) Does Arlington County have any existing EV Charging Stations in place currently? If yes, what brand? Arlington County has 34 existing EV charging stations. All of the stations are ChargePoint brand. 5.) Does Arlington County have any plans to support Fleet EV Charing in the near future? Yes. 6.) Can the Prime references we provide to Arlington County be other than Government install? Refer to the requirements of the reference section.
Question 16
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Section 10.1, Program design for communications, marketing, outreach and education programs – does Arlington County anticipate needing digital ad placement to support the outreach component of this program?
Response: We are not excluding this option.
Question 17
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Section 10.3, Website and Content/Collateral Development – will the selected firm be responsible only for website copy and content, or is it expected that the selected firm also provide website development services?
Response: The County has its website, with a portfolio that covers all agencies, bureaus, divisions, services and operations. While we do not define this task to mean complete website development from the beginning, there is an expectation to contract a full scope of graphics, copy, design, photography, and other web content consistent with technical architecture and specifications to be provided by County's Data Services Department.
Question 18
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: How does Arlington County plan to include small and local business in this procurement and subsequent tasking? What commitment does Arlington County have to giving local, minority, small, woman-owned or service disabled veteran owned businesses opportunities to compete for this task order? Will any awards be reserved for SWAM business?
Response: This request is posted on the Commonwealth’s eVA system which notifies all businesses by commodity of the County’s request. Arlington County is a local government and does not currently have goals and set asides for minority, small, women or disabled veteran owned businesses. All responses are evaluated and awarded based on the qualifications listed in each solicitation. Any solicitation posted on eVA connects all businesses back to this Vendor Registry system for registration with Arlington County. The County is currently working on posting an RFP for a disparity study which may give us an opportunity for more support in the future.
Question 19
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #4. Offeror’s General Qualifications and Experience – should these items be submitted and organized by each Section or Service Area under which the consultant is submitting (i.e., one-page intro letter for each section or service area; 2-5 past projects for each section or service area; 2 pages of credentials plus resumes for each section or service area)? Different service areas or sections may warrant different experience and personnel qualifications.
Response: Yes
Question 20
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #6. Project References – Please confirm that two to four references are requested for each Section, Service Area, or Task Area consultant is bidding on.
Response: Yes. However, County anticipates that there may be circumstances where this requirement can be adjusted to fit circumstances, e.g., 1) where subject areas/tasks are so inter-related and cross-cutting that the same reference may be provided for multiple, relevant service areas or task areas; or 2) for specialized firms or firms formed within the past 5 years, professional references that pre-date the firm's formation but who can serve as a reference for a specific service or task area background and expertise, may be considered.
Question 21
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #7. Project Cost – To what date will proposed hourly rates remain firm and at what point will price adjustments be considered? Per Question 3, the contract term could be up to 5 years, but providing rates that are good for 5 years may provide the government with inflated rates for the near-term.
Response: Refer to Clause 6, Contract Price Adjustments on page 36 of the RFP.
Question 22
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Are the last 5 pages of the RFP package the full extent of the “proposal form” identified in Section V.? Is the form intended to be submitted as a separate document? Or should it serve as the beginning of the response document?
Response: Refer to Proposal Form, Page 2 of 5. #1 OFFEROR MUST SUBMIT: ONE ELECTRONIC COMPLETE SIGNED PROPOSAL THAT INCLUDES AS ITS FIRST PAGE THIS PROPOSAL FORM.
Question 23
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia?
Response: Refer to provision #20 Rider Clause on page 9 of the RFP.
Posted: 10/19/2022
Type of Addition: In Review
Posted: 9/7/2022
Question: Regarding RFP Clause 4: INTEREST IN MORE THAN ONE PROPOSAL, AND COLLUSION, the RFP states that: "Reasonable grounds for believing that an Offeror is interested in more than one proposal for a solicitation, including both as an Offeror and as a subcontractor for another Offeror, or that collusion exists between two or more Offerors, will result in rejection of all affected proposals." (a) Does "a solicitation" apply to this RFP, or to individual task order solicitations? (b) If the former, could a business respond as a Prime in one area, and as a sub-contractor in another? That would still seem to satisfy the intent of the clause. Thanks.
Response: Yes, it would satisfy the intent of the clause.
Posted: 9/9/2022
Question: Will you be scoring firms overall or at the service area level or task area level?
Response: Offerors scored on proposal submitted. Per Section V-3a, Project Approach: Offerors may submit a proposal for an entire Section (e.g., Section A: Strategic Planning and Financing), a specific Service Area (e.g., Section A.3 Waste Reduction) or a specific Task Area (e.g., A.2.1. Community Choice Aggregation). Offerors must clearly identify by number and letter the Section(s), Service Area(s) and Task Area(s) for which they wish to be considered.
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 1. Pg 5, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, II. Information For Offerors, 1. Solicitation Schedule. Seeing as the Contract Award date is listed as TBD, can the County provide an actual or estimated Period of Performance for the work under the Contract?
Response: Contract term could be up to 5 years.
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 2. Pg 31, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 2. Proposal Submission. Should all Executed Forms and other documents be combined into one PDF file for submission or would the County prefer separate files. If separate files are preferred, please specify formats and file naming convention.
Response: PDF is fine.
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 3. Pg 32, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 2. Mandatory Requirements. Would a statement that the Offeror does not take exceptions to mandatory provisions of the draft Contract Terms and Conditions that are attached to this solicitation be sufficient to meet the requirement of this section?
Response: Yes
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 4. Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 3. Project Approach. Are there any page limitations to the Project Approach section?
Response: Project Approach should be limited to three pages.
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 6. Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 4. Offeror’s General Qualifications and Experience, d. Credentials of the proposed team. Besides Project Manager, are there any prescribed roles that need to be filled as part of the Project Team?
Response: If the submission covers multiple sectors/categories/service areas and the expectation is to use more than one Project Manager to handle diverse projects, then the credentials for each Project Manager expected to lead County projects and, if relevant, any Project Director that any Offeror may assign to supervise Offeror's work for County.
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 7. Pg 34, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 7. Project Cost. Will the County supply a preferred template or format for presenting cost information?
Response: No
Posted: 9/12/2022
Question: 8. Pg 34, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 7. Project Cost. Should cost information be submitted in a separate file or in the same document as technical information?
Response: Either is fine.
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 29, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, IV. Scope of Work, E. Task Order Assignment Procedure. Will offerors be allowed to add additional subcontractors post award at the task order level?
Response: Refer to Section II. Information for Offerors, Provision 12, Replacement or Augmentation of Key Personnel or Subcontractors on page 7.
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 29, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, IV. Scope of Work, E. Task Order Assignment Procedure. Would two or more winning offerors be allowed to enter into a teaming agreement with each other post award at the task order level?
Response: We have already responded to this question. Please see Question 11.
Posted: 9/20/2022
Question: Pg 33, RFP No. 23-DES-RFP-230, V. Proposal Requirements, 7. Proposal Submittal Elements, 3. Project Approach. In response to a question regarding the page limitations to the Project Approach section, Arlington stated that there was a three-page limit. Does this refer to the entire Project Approach encompassing the four Sections and 11 Service Areas? If not, please specify page limits for the Sections and Service Areas.
Response: Two page limit per Service Area.
Posted: 9/21/2022
Question: The answer to question 6 specifies the Project Approach should be 3 pages. Can you please clarify if that is 3 pages total, regardless of how many Sections/Services Areas/Tasks a company is responding to, or 3 pages per individual narrative? The RFP specifies “For *each* Section, Service Area or Task Area, the Offeror must submit a narrative" (emphasis ours).
Response: Two page limit per Service Area.
Posted: 9/23/2022
Question: Is the three-page limitation on the Project Approach applicable to each section/task area we’re responding to or is our narrative across all section/task areas subject to a single three-page limitation?
Response: We have already responded to this question. Please see the public solicitation.
Posted: 9/26/2022
Question: 1.) Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia? 2.) Does Arlington County expect each offeror to inspect each building within the County before submitting a proposal? 3.) Does Arlington County intend to provide EV Charging stations that will require a monetization requirement? 4.) Does Arlington County have any existing EV Charging Stations in place currently? If yes, what brand? 5.) Does Arlington County have any plans to support Fleet EV Charing in the near future? 6.) Can the Prime references we provide to Arlington County be other than Government installs?
Response: 1.)Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia? Refer to provision #20 Rider Clause on page 9 of the RFP. 2.) Does Arlington County expect each offeror to inspect each building within the County before submitting a proposal? No, not prior to submitting the proposal, but they should be prepared to include in their proposal their experience in different building use-cases, e.g., multifamily, government/institutional, retail, commercial - and the scope of their services including electrical audit, building inspection, and any required power source changes. 3.) Does Arlington County intend to provide EV Charging stations that will require a monetization requirement? Assuming this means whether we anticipate public-use/ROW charging that will have a charging rate attached to it, yes. 4.) Does Arlington County have any existing EV Charging Stations in place currently? If yes, what brand? Arlington County has 34 existing EV charging stations. All of the stations are ChargePoint brand. 5.) Does Arlington County have any plans to support Fleet EV Charing in the near future? Yes. 6.) Can the Prime references we provide to Arlington County be other than Government install? Refer to the requirements of the reference section.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Section 10.1, Program design for communications, marketing, outreach and education programs – does Arlington County anticipate needing digital ad placement to support the outreach component of this program?
Response: We are not excluding this option.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Section 10.3, Website and Content/Collateral Development – will the selected firm be responsible only for website copy and content, or is it expected that the selected firm also provide website development services?
Response: The County has its website, with a portfolio that covers all agencies, bureaus, divisions, services and operations. While we do not define this task to mean complete website development from the beginning, there is an expectation to contract a full scope of graphics, copy, design, photography, and other web content consistent with technical architecture and specifications to be provided by County's Data Services Department.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: How does Arlington County plan to include small and local business in this procurement and subsequent tasking? What commitment does Arlington County have to giving local, minority, small, woman-owned or service disabled veteran owned businesses opportunities to compete for this task order? Will any awards be reserved for SWAM business?
Response: This request is posted on the Commonwealth’s eVA system which notifies all businesses by commodity of the County’s request. Arlington County is a local government and does not currently have goals and set asides for minority, small, women or disabled veteran owned businesses. All responses are evaluated and awarded based on the qualifications listed in each solicitation. Any solicitation posted on eVA connects all businesses back to this Vendor Registry system for registration with Arlington County. The County is currently working on posting an RFP for a disparity study which may give us an opportunity for more support in the future.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #4. Offeror’s General Qualifications and Experience – should these items be submitted and organized by each Section or Service Area under which the consultant is submitting (i.e., one-page intro letter for each section or service area; 2-5 past projects for each section or service area; 2 pages of credentials plus resumes for each section or service area)? Different service areas or sections may warrant different experience and personnel qualifications.
Response: Yes
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #6. Project References – Please confirm that two to four references are requested for each Section, Service Area, or Task Area consultant is bidding on.
Response: Yes. However, County anticipates that there may be circumstances where this requirement can be adjusted to fit circumstances, e.g., 1) where subject areas/tasks are so inter-related and cross-cutting that the same reference may be provided for multiple, relevant service areas or task areas; or 2) for specialized firms or firms formed within the past 5 years, professional references that pre-date the firm's formation but who can serve as a reference for a specific service or task area background and expertise, may be considered.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Proposal Submittal Elements, #7. Project Cost – To what date will proposed hourly rates remain firm and at what point will price adjustments be considered? Per Question 3, the contract term could be up to 5 years, but providing rates that are good for 5 years may provide the government with inflated rates for the near-term.
Response: Refer to Clause 6, Contract Price Adjustments on page 36 of the RFP.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Are the last 5 pages of the RFP package the full extent of the “proposal form” identified in Section V.? Is the form intended to be submitted as a separate document? Or should it serve as the beginning of the response document?
Response: Refer to Proposal Form, Page 2 of 5. #1 OFFEROR MUST SUBMIT: ONE ELECTRONIC COMPLETE SIGNED PROPOSAL THAT INCLUDES AS ITS FIRST PAGE THIS PROPOSAL FORM.
Posted: 9/27/2022
Question: Does Arlington County expect to make this contract available to other counties in Virginia?
Response: Refer to provision #20 Rider Clause on page 9 of the RFP.