POC information: Robert C. Gable, Contracting Officer (email is preferred method of communication)
[email protected]; COMM 850-283-6605; FAX 850-283-6466 AETC CONS/LGCT , AFCESA Support Flight, 136 Barnes Avenue, Building 856 Annex, Tyndall AFB, FL 32403 is soliciting competitive offers for Air Force Utilties Privatization - Robins AFB, GA Natural Gas Distribution System. Anticipated release of RFP for this effort is on/around 20 Mar 2009. Privatization is defined as the conveyance of a utility system to a municipal, private, regional, district, or cooperative utility company or other entity. The conveyance may consist of all right, title, and interest of the United States in the utility system. Utility Privatization (UP) will be accomplished in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2688 Utility Systems: Conveyance Authority. Contract term is anticipated at 50 years. The following is a description of the system to be privatized: Natural gas is supplied to Robins AFB at three locations through pressure-regulation and metering stations. One pressure-regulation and metering station is owned by AG&L and the other two are owned by the City of Warner Robins. The AG&L-owned regulator station is located adjacent to Richard Ray Boulevard, west of Building352 . The City of Warner Robins-owned regulator stations are located on the northwest side of the intersection of Ninth Street and Page Road and west of Building 675, west of Laundry Drive. Natural gas is received from the suppliers and reduced to approximately 55 to 60 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) for distribution throughout the system on Base. Odorization is provided by the suppliers. There are no government-owned odorization facilities associated with the natural gas system included in the solicitation. The system supplies natural gas to residences and facilities for space heating and cooking, hot water, steam boiler requirements, and industrial process equipment. It also supplies the compressed natural gas fueling station, which is used to supply the Base?s alternative-fuel vehicles. The distribution system is looped so that nearly all locations/buildings can be fed from at least two different paths. There are approximately 130 buildings and 760 housing units connected to the system. The Base operates a propane/air-peaking system, which includes twelve 60,000-gallon propane storage tanks, that can be used to supplement or curtail the use of natural gas supplied from off-base sources. The propane/air-peaking system is not included with the natural gas distribution system being privatized. The Robins AFB-owned propane/air-peaking system is located on Marchbanks Drive. The original sections of the gas system were constructed in the 1950s. The original gas system piping consisted of black iron and steel pipe. Portions of these pipes were abandoned in place and replaced with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. New construction is generally HDPE pipe. Standard installation practices are to install tracer wire or tape with plastic piping; however, it is not known if all plastic piping was installed with tracer wire or tape. The Contractor should not include any projects to install tracer wire on piping in their proposal. Any requirements for tracer wire will be addressed after contract award. The distribution system piping consists of approximately 177,652 linear feet of pipe. Materials of construction include coated and wrapped steel, black iron, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and HDPE. More than 50 percent of the system is of an unknown material type, but is likely to be coated and wrapped steel. Approximately 40 percent of the system is non-metallic. Piping ranges in size from ? inch to 8 inches in diameter. The burial depth for buried infrastructure is between 2 and 4 feet below ground surface. Approximately 10 percent of the distribution system is underneath parking lots, pavements, roadways, etc. The steel piping systems are protected from external corrosion by an impressed current cathodic protection system. A total of five rectifiers are installed throughout the Base to protect the metallic natural gas piping. Ten district regulator stations further reduce the natural gas supply pressure throughout the distribution system. Nine of these district regulator stations are included in the Utilities Privatization solicitation of the natural gas distribution system. The other district regulator station (Turner Housing Regulator Station), located approximately 50 yards southwest of the intersection of Turner Parkway and Twelfth Street, is owned by the Housing Privatization Contractor and is not included in the Utilities Privatization Solicitation. The stations are typically above grade and are protected by concrete-block walls or fencing. The regulator stations are designed in a self-monitoring configuration to provide pressure regulation and over-pressure protection. The regulator stations also include a bypass loop to allow for continued operation in the event of a regulator failure. Eight of these regulator stations, including the Turner Housing regulator station, reduce the pressure to approximately 35 psig to serve the housing areas. There are numerous small, single regulator installations that reduce the pressure to the desired service pressure for end device use, such as boilers, stoves, and heating units. Typical gas pressure for equipment and appliance use in buildings is 7 inches of water to 1 psig. A few buildings are served at higher pressures, such as 5 psig or higher, for boiler or process equipment use. Gas meters are installed throughout the distribution system and are used for internal billing and energy management purposes. Robins AFB has excavation restrictions in portions of the Industrial Area due to contamination of subsurface soils and groundwater from spills, leaks, and other releases that predate regulatory restrictions. This restricted excavation area houses machine shops, metal finishing, industrial waste treatments plant and associated underground piping, industrial materials storage, and drummed waste storage facilities. Implementation of the remedy selected in the Excavation Plan for the Industrial Area is required in order to ensure the protection of personnel coming into contact with the site and to eliminate or minimize risk associated with the contamination. This area of the Base is 84 percent paved, behind security fencing, under building foundations, or beneath streets. There is very limited potential for exposure to workers or visitors in the area. The most likely scenario in which exposure to contaminated soils might occur is in the event of maintenance or construction activities requiring excavation of affected soil. Maps of the area and a copy of the Excavation Plan for the Industrial Area will be supplied in the Technical Library. The City of Warner Robins supplies gas directly to the Museum of Aviation. This remote facility is metered separately and is not included with the natural gas distribution system being considered for privatization. The point of demarcation for the distribution line supplying the Museum of Aviation is the downstream side of the meter. This synopsis shall not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur costs in anticipation of an award. The Government is not bound to make any awards under this notice.