North East Power System (NEPS): USACE Did Not Properly Vet Potential Contractors Before Awarding NEPS Contracts

Abstract

During an investigation of the southern expansion of the North East Power System (NEPS), SIGAR discovered that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) did not properly vet bidding contractors as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Department of Defense (DOD) policy. The NEPS southern expansion was broken into four phases and included three separate contracts totaling $289.1M. This report discusses the results of SIGARs review of USACEs vetting of potential NEPS contractors in accordance with the FAR and DOD policy. The FAR requires contracting officers to confirm past performance that prospective contractors claim in their bid proposals. In addition, the FAR requires contracting officers to utilize multiple databases to vet potential contractors prior to the awarding of any contract. These databases, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) and the System for Award Management (SAM), provide information on previous performance problems and suspension and debarment information. CENTCOM also requires contracting officers to review information in the Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS).Our analysis found that USACE awarded the NEPS Phase I contract to a contractor that falsely claimed prior experience he didnt have. USACE also awarded the Phase II and III contract to an individual who was proposed for debarment and was the brother of the Phase I contractor who was also proposed for debarment. USACEs failure to properly vet these contractors put the NEPS contracts at risk of waste and may have contributed to the significant delays and safety and reliability problems SIGAR identified in subsequent audits and inspections of NEPS projects.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2019
Accession Number
AD1137644

Entities

People

  • John Sopko

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Afghanistan
  • Army
  • Army Corps Of Engineers
  • Contract Proposals
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Databases
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electrical Equipment
  • Engineers
  • Fixed Price Contracts
  • Geographic Regions
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • Middle East
  • Regulations

Readers

  • Facility/Structural Engineering.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.