Proposal for Construction Services for TVA Bottom Ash Dewatering Facilities

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Supply Chain, the OIG examined a cost proposal submitted by a company for construction services for TVA bottom ash dewatering facilities. Our objective was to determine if the company's cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned $100 million contract. In our opinion, the cost proposal was overstated. Specifically, the company's proposal included: (1) overstated fees, (2) excessive subcontractor craft labor costs, and (3) contingency costs that could inflate the final costs paid for the services. We estimated TVA could avoid about $10.81 million on the planned $100 million contract by: (1) negotiating reductions to the proposed fee rate and only applying fee to costs specified in TVA's request for proposal (RFP), (2) limiting subcontractor craft labor billing rates to the rates for the company's craft labor employees as required by the RFP, and (3) eliminating contingency costs from cost-based target cost estimate projects. Additionally, we found the company's cost proposal included incorrect craft labor rates.(Summary Only)