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Performance Contracting questions


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I am a new Small Business Manager for Federal ESPC (performance contracting) contracts, trying to navigate the whole small business subcontracting rules and regs as well as Individual Service Reporting requirements into the eSRS system.  I am unsure how long I must report into the eSRS.  Our contracts can be upwards of 20 years if taking the Performance Period into account after construction is complete.  Our approved SB subcontracting plan only lists expected dollars to be subcontracted during the construction period. Do I cease reporting once construction is complete in say 2 or 3 years and all subs have been paid or must I continue reporting the entire length of the performance period.  Lastly, is there any training out there specifically for SB subcontracting as it relates to Performance Contracting. Thank you for any feedback.

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4 hours ago, LB100907 said:

I am unsure how long I must report into the eSRS.  Our contracts can be upwards of 20 years if taking the Performance Period into account after construction is complete.  Our approved SB subcontracting plan only lists expected dollars to be subcontracted during the construction period. Do I cease reporting once construction is complete in say 2 or 3 years and all subs have been paid or must I continue reporting the entire length of the performance period.   

Is there an eSRS reporting requirement in your company's contract e.g., FAR 52.219-9? Is the contract from the Department of Energy (D0E)? Perhaps there is a
DOE controlling clause in your contract? The eSRS reporting world is intricate. https://www.esrs.gov/ attempts to provide some Quick Reference guidance. Does it help you? The FAR referenced clause indicates that eSRS compliance is required as described in the clause or in an Agency regulation.My reading of the Quick Reference guidance is that each eSRS reporting period should at all times reflect the cumulative status of applicable subcontracting for all the work included in your contract with DOE until the prime contract work is complete. The eSRS reporting can be compared by the Government to the approved subcontracting plan to see how well you did. I am questioning some of my understanding because it appears your company has an approved subcontracting plan only for the construction period yet your contract from DOE appears to include work beyond that period? Perhaps you can shine a light on more details?   

Edited by Neil Roberts
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There is a period for performing the construction work (say 2 or 3 years) and a period for sharing the savings in energy costs (say 20 years).

Personally, I think eSRS reporting can stop when the construction work stops as a common sense answer, but I am not in a position to give a definitive answer.

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On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 7:39 PM, ji20874 said:

There is a period for performing the construction work (say 2 or 3 years) and a period for sharing the savings in energy costs (say 20 years).

Personally, I think eSRS reporting can stop when the construction work stops as a common sense answer, but I am not in a position to give a definitive answer.

I finally got hold of a SBA rep from the Office of Government Contracting.  This was the reply. So I guess if my entire contract is 20 years, construction and performance period, I will be reporting for 20 years (but hope to retire by then:))

: It appears to me that the subcontracting plan for EPC contracts is an individual subcontracting plan since the contracts involve construction activities. Individual subcontracting plan means a subcontracting plan that covers the entire contract period (including option periods), applies to a specific contract (FAR52.219-9(b)). An ISR (Individual Subcontract Report) shall be submitted semi-annually during “contract performance” for the periods ending March 31 and September 30 (FAR52.219-9(l)(1)(i)).

 

I assume you only have one subcontracting plan for the contract you referred above to have a long performance period. Since the contract involves a construction period as well as a long performance period, the “contract performance” period includes the construction period and the performance period; hence, you need to report into the eSRS through the entire performance period. In fact, your subcontracting plan should cover subcontracting activities involving the construction period and the performance period and not just the construction period in accordance with FAR52.219-9(b) referred above.

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The answer you depends on how you ask the question.

If you asked the question about a 20-year performance period, you got the answer you asked for.  I wonder if the person giving the answer even knows what an energy savings performance contract is.

However, if you had asked the question about 3-year construction performance period and a 20-year period to share in savings, and if you asked someone who was familiar with ESPCs, you might have gotten a different answer.

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Now i am concerned the info the SBA gave me is not accurate because yes, this is indeed an energy savings performance contract. We obtain third-party financing to complete construction and the savings realized over the long term performance period is how the financier is paid back. One thing is for certain, I am realizing I never get the same answer and all agency reps say something different. There is no such thing as cut and dry, black and white answers.  Do you know of any legit training out there, and I am dealing with individual plans, not commercial. Performance contracting seems to have its own quirkiness and not clearly spelled out. 

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