J061--541 Electrical Power Distribution Equipment Testing, Inspection, and Maintenance - VAMC Cleveland

The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to the questions received prior to the cutoff date. In addition to providing answer to the questions, a site visit is also set for 0900 on Tuesday 10 October 2026 at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1702. We will meet at the information desk, first floor of the Atrium. This is directly across from the parking garage. Is this a new requirement or a recompete? If a recompete, please identify the incumbent contractor, the previous contract number, and the prior contract value. The final option year of the previous contract 36C25022F0010 has expired. Can prior test reports (most recent tri-annual cycle, IR survey, oil analysis) be provided to help establish equipment condition and test history? Prior test reports will not be shared outside of authorized staff. What is the estimated contract value or funding range for this requirement? This is not a construction requirement and therefore we do not have a project magnitude. The circuit breaker testing schedules for Option Year 1 (November 1, 2027 October 31, 2028) and Option Year 4 (November 1, 2030 October 31, 2031) appear to omit the quantity column shown in the other annual schedules. Could the Government provide revised schedules identifying the quantities for each listed circuit breaker in these two option years? Edited spreadsheet for breaker listing provided below. The SOW identifies working hours of 7:00 a.m. 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday when maintenance requires an electrical power interruption. However, we could not locate an equipment schedule distinguishing Normal (Monday Friday) equipment from Critical (Saturday Sunday) equipment. Could the Government provide this classification or confirm how contractors should determine which equipment requires weekend work for pricing purposes? Any work that requires power to be interrupted will be completed on Sunday s, during daylight hours. Work that does not require power interruption, i.e. IR scan or transformer oil samples can be completed M-F during normal working hours. The section requires electrical contracting to be the primary specialty of the contractor's business and references properly trained and licensed permanent staff. Would the VA consider a qualified small-business prime contractor that provides contract management, coordination, quality assurance, and oversight while utilizing an experienced electrical testing subcontractor with the required NETA certifications, licensed personnel, equipment, and relevant past performance? This requirement is intended for contractors whose primary business specialty is electrical testing, inspection, maintenance, and repair of electrical power distribution systems. The Government expects the prime contractor to possess the technical qualifications, experience, and personnel necessary to directly perform the primary work requirements identified in this SOW. While the use of subcontractors is not prohibited, the Government does not intend for the prime contractor's role to be limited solely to contract administration, quality assurance, and oversight while substantially all technical work is performed by a subcontractor. Offerors shall comply with all applicable subcontracting and performance requirements identified in the solicitation and applicable regulations. Technician certification equivalence: the statement of work requires technicians certified to NETA standards or an equivalent certifying organization. Would NICET-certified technicians performing testing to the latest NETA MTS standards be accepted as equivalent for this requirement? NICET-certified technicians may be accepted as meeting the "equivalent certifying organization" requirement, provided the certification is in a relevant electrical testing, maintenance, or power-distribution-related subfield and the individual possesses the knowledge, training, and experience necessary to perform the testing, inspection, maintenance, and troubleshooting activities required under this contract. Consistent with the SOW requirements, personnel performing the work shall have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant documented experience and shall perform all testing in accordance with the latest edition of the NETA Maintenance Testing Specifications (MTS). Additionally, NICET Level III or higher in an applicable electrical power testing or power distribution discipline will be considered equivalent to the NETA certification requirement. Additionally, would the VA consider the subcontractor's technical qualifications and past performance when evaluating the prime contractor's technical capability? This requirement is intended for contractors whose primary business specialty is electrical testing, inspection, maintenance, and repair of electrical power distribution systems. The Government expects the prime contractor to possess the technical qualifications, experience, and personnel necessary to directly perform the primary work requirements identified in this SOW. While subcontractors may be utilized as permitted by the solicitation, the Government does not intend for the prime contractor's role to be limited solely to contract administration, quality assurance, and oversight while substantially all technical work is performed by a subcontractor. Evaluation of technical capability and past performance will be conducted in accordance with the evaluation criteria specified in the solicitation. Finally, please confirm which limitation on subcontracting applies to this procurement under NAICS 238210. The NAICS for this requirement is 238210 Offer due date: The SAM.gov notice header lists a response date of October 19, 2026, but the solicitation text says quotes are due October 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. Please confirm which date and time govern. SAM was corrected within 4 hours of the posting to reflect 10/23/2026 at 15:00 which matches the solicitation that was posted. Period of performance: The SOW lists a base year of November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2027, plus four option years. Please confirm the anticipated award date that supports a November 1 start. The current need is to start 11/1/2026. The period of performance will start as soon as possible if not on 11/1/2026. The SOW requires NETA-certified technicians "or equivalent." Please confirm whether the certification may be held by the subcontractor's technicians doing the testing, and which other certifications are acceptable as equivalent. The Government expects the prime contractor to possess the technical qualifications, experience, and personnel necessary to directly perform the primary testing, inspection, maintenance, and troubleshooting activities required under this contract. The use of qualified subcontractors is permitted; however, the prime contractor shall maintain an active onsite role and directly perform a substantial portion of the work with its own qualified personnel. The prime contractor's role shall not be limited solely to contract administration, project management, quality assurance, or oversight functions. For personnel qualification purposes, NETA-certified technicians are acceptable. As an equivalent certification, the Government will accept NICET Level III or higher certification in an applicable electrical power testing or power distribution discipline, provided the technician has a minimum of five (5) years of documented relevant experience and performs testing in accordance with the latest edition of the NETA Maintenance Testing Specifications (MTS). Limitations on subcontracting: The solicitation includes FAR 52.219-14. Please confirm that the services limit applies (no more than 50% of the amount paid may go to subcontractors that are not similarly situated). Yes the clause applies to this requirement. Payment: The solicitation includes clause 52.232-90 Fast Payment Procedure, which covers supply deliveries. Please confirm how invoicing will work for this service: after each testing event is completed and accepted, or monthly in arrears. Invoice upon completion, not more than Monthly. The evaluation weighs technical capability and requires references. Is there a prescribed format or minimum number of references quoters should submit, and should the references be healthcare or VA facility electrical testing work? The relevance of references, due to the complexity of performing electrical testing, maintenance, and outage activities within an operating healthcare environment, the Government recommends that offerors provide references demonstrating experience performing work of similar scope, complexity, and operational criticality whenever available. References involving healthcare facilities, VA medical facilities, or other mission-critical facilities are preferred but are not required. Please clarify whether the equipment quantities listed on Page 20 of 65 under Infra-Red Line Items for…