Diesel Engine Fuel, Ultra-Low Sulfur and Bio-Diesel (for On Road use only)
Group 05602, IFB#22781, BOD-June 26, 2014
Bidders’ Questions and Answers
Document Section
(Name or Number)
1.
2.
IFB – Section 7.15
3.
QUESTION
RESPONSE
Please provide the Bid results from the last diesel award.
The website on the bid provides the first page of all the
bidders but no actual pricing?
While this question and answer period is intended to address
questions related to the current solicitation, IFB #22781, and not
the prior solicitation, the winning prices from last year’s bid can
be found on the OGS website here:
http://www.ogs.ny.gov/purchase/spg/pdfdocs/0560222684ra.pdf
Please advise if the minimum order size for ALL locations
is 250 gallons. Does this mean if a facility has a 10,000
gallon tank the minimum order is still 250 gallons?
Yes. Per Section 7.15 of the IFB, minimum delivery size is 250
gallons.
Please advise the Tank Wagon and Motor Transport
locations are broken down?
No, contract users did not specify Tank Wagon or Motor
Transport deliveries.
4.
Attachment 01 – Price
Pages
Price Sheet – Are we to assume that all volume is tank
wagon deliveries?
No assumptions can be made since users did not specify Tank
Wagon and Motor Transport. If there are specific questions
about deliveries, bidders can contact the end user directly for
clarifications (contact information, when available, is contained in
the Delivery Schedules – Attachments 9 and 10).
5.
IFB
Is pricing to include all Federal and State Taxes?
Yes, see Section 7.20 of the IFB.
6.
IFB – Section 7.32
This contract requires an engineering contract also? It’s
not just a fuel supplier contract it is also an engineering
contract according to page 33 item 7.32? Is this a
mistake?
No, this is a fuel contract, however, per Section 7.32, any
contractor is required to provide these services when requested
or to investigate a complaint.
7.
Attachment 01 – Price
Pages
Please explain the pricing sheets. Tank Wagon (TW) and
Motor Transport (MT) pricing is very different. Please
advise where do I list my TW and where do I list my MT
pricing?
8.
Attachment 01 – Price
Example Item # 1 Albany county Diesel Regular – 618,165
There is no mechanism in the pricing sheets to provide separate
pricing for Tank Wagon (TW) and Motor Transport (MT)
deliveries. There is, however, an option in the pricing sheets to
provide a volume discount for orders greater than 5500 gallons,
which would be Motor Transport deliveries.
See the answers to Questions 4 and 7 above.
1
IFB#22781
9.
Pages
gallons? What portion of this is Tank Wagon Business
and what portion is Motor Transport business? Where
do I state the TW price and where do I state the MT
price?
MWBE
I looked through your MWBE directory and I only found
one MWBE hauler than can do tank wagon deliveries for
me in the Albany area. Which means out of all Counties
available for bid I only have 1 county that I might be able
to submit pricing for unless I am able to location
additional tank wagon haulers.
Goals were based on availability of suppliers and hauling was
secondary.
Below are MBE & WBE haulers that can also be used for tank
wagon deliveries.
FLORENCE CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
FLORENCE CHILTON
80 LAKE AVENUE SOUTH UNIT 10
NESCONSET, NY
11767
P: 631-584-4460
F: 631-584-5720
E: fchilton@afelectricaltesting.com
NYS
WBE
DELUXE DELIVERY SYSTEMS, INC.
YOINDRA RAMNARAYAN
64 WEST 48TH STREET 4TH
NEW YORK
NY
10036
P: 212-376-4500
F: 212-293-0395
E: ryan@deluxedelivery.com
NYS
MBE
10.
We are trying to get a handle on historic usage of the
fuels listed on the IFB for the Bronx, Westchester and
Suffolk Counties. Would you be able to provide actual
historical usage for these three counties? This would
enable us to provide the best possible pricing for the
volume projected for the next two years. Basing our
calculations on filed requirements only will require us to
price in a greater amount of risk which will translate into
a higher price per gallon
The following information is a rough approximation of the types
and quantities of diesel fuel purchased off of state contract,
during the time period of August 2013 to March 2014, for Bronx,
Suffolk, and Westchester Counties:
Bronx:
B5 BioDiesel: 5,500 gallons
Regular: 4,900 gallons
Suffolk:
B5 BioDiesel: 869,000 gallons
Premium: 4,068,000 gallons
Regular: 311,000 gallons
2
IFB#22781
Westchester:
B5 BioDiesel: 329,000 gallons
B10 BioDiesel: 11,000 gallons
B20 BioDiesel: 39,000 gallons
Premium: 852,000 gallons
Regular: 961,000 gallons
11.
I am trying to get the results from last year’s bid’s 22684
and 22685.
12. IFB Section 1.4
Definitions and
elsewhere in the
document
Combined bid price is defined as the 2D price weighted
by 66.7% plus the 1D price weighted by 33.3%. In reality,
with most customers who blend 2D and 1D doing it at a
60/40 rate for 4 or 5 months at the most, the percentage
is 13 to 16% 1D. Weighting 1D at 33.3% leads to uneven
1D bid numbers (larger discounts utilized to lower the
overall bid price). Some suppliers never add 1D, utilizing
additives instead, therefore they lowball the 1D number.
Request a reduction in the weighting of the 1D portion of
the price formula.
Minimum order size is set at 250 gallons, which means no
matter what size tank the customer has they can order
250 gallons at the contract price, even if they have a
10,000 gallon tank. Freight is the second highest cost for
a Contractor, after the cost of the fuel. The more we can
deliver to each stop, the less the freight costs.
Contractors must make assumptions, based on the
delivery schedules provided, on what their delivery costs
will be, keeping in mind that customers can order as little
as 250 gallons. If NYS would set the minimum as a
percentage of the customer's tanks size(s) or storage
capacity, Contractors would be able to better estimate
their costs and bid more aggressively, without worrying
that a customer is going to order 250 gallons into a large
tank. Suggest 50 - 60% of capacity, which would leave
customers plenty of product to carry them until a
delivery is made.
13. IFB Section 7.15
Minimum Order Size
3
Bidders are cautioned that past usage is not necessarily a
reflection of future usage.
See the response to Question 1. The winning prices for award
22685 can be found here:
http://www.ogs.ny.gov/purchase/spg/pdfdocs/0550022685ra.pdf
The 2/3 to 1/3 ratio has been the standard in previous Diesel
solicitations and OGS declines to make the requested changes for
this IFB.
OGS declines to make the requested change at this time.
IFB#22781
14. IFB Section 7.22 Price
Revisions for Biodiesel
15. IFB Section 7.24
Invoices
16. IFB Section 8.1 Fill and
Vent Requirements
17. IFB Section 8.2 Topping
4
The Biodiesel portion of the blends is to be priced based
on the Wall Street Journal, Cash Price - Fats and Oils,
Soybean Oil, Chicago IL. This posting has no correlation
with Biodiesel prices in New York, particularly since the
specification is not SME but source neutral. There are
industry postings available for use that more accurately
reflect Biodiesel prices in NYS, such as ARGUS and OPIS.
Request biodiesel portion of pricing be changed to
biodiesel posting, rather than soybean oil posting.
Contains the following; "Note: If additives rather than
kerosene is used to provide winter protection, the
Contractor is allowed to charge market price for the
additive…" This statement raises all sorts of issues. First
of all additives cannot lower the cloud point of ULSD, so
they cannot be utilized to meet cloud point requirements
during winter months when the spec is below the
industry average of 15F. Secondly, pricing for "Premium
2D and 1D should reflect the cost of additives, including
winter additives, thereby giving NYS a way to fairly
evaluate all economic proposals. Allowing Contractors to
charge "market price" eliminates fair price evaluations.
Request removal of this statement.
States "the Contractor shall be in a position to make bulk
deliveries within 24 hours after receipt of order." Yet
according to Supplementing Articles 45 and 46 of
Appendix B, General Specifications for Procurement
Contracts, orders will call for delivery within a specified
number of days after date of order, and Contractors are
required to state how many days/hours after receipt of
order they will deliver. If a Contractor states they will
deliver 48 hours after receipt of orders, how is that
reconciled with the above statement? If one Contractor
states they can deliver within 24 hours and another
states 72 hours, is that taken into effect when award
decisions are made?
2nd paragraph - "Bidder must maintain service facilities
OGS declines to make the requested change at this time.
OGS declines to make the requested change at this time.
Section 7.2.1 of the IFB amends Section 4 of Appendix B to
establish the following order of precedence for documents:
1. Appendix A, Standard Clauses for New York State
Contracts
2. The Resulting Contract
3. Appendix B, General Specifications
4. Other Appendices and attachments as deemed necessary
The resulting contract has a higher order of precedence than
Appendix B, therefore, the timeframe for delivery specified by the
contractor in their bid shall prevail. However, in the event of
emergency, contractors must still have the capability to deliver
fuel within 24 hours
Delivery timeframes do not factor into award evaluation.
However, they could come into consideration in the event there
is a tie in bids.
This requirement is for bidders to provide requested services for
IFB#22781
Off Tanks
18. IFB Section 8.6
Sampling of Diesel Fuel
19. IFB Section 8.21 Cloud
Point
20. IFB Section 8.15 Noncomplying Product –
Cold Filter Plug Point
(CFFP); 8.16 Price
Deduction Table Cold
Filter Plugging Point;
8.22 Cold Filter Plugging
Point (CFFP); 8.35 Cold
Filter Flow Improver;
8.43 Low Temperature
Operability
21. IFB Section 9.10 Cold
Filter Plugging Point –
Biodiesel Blends
22. IFB Appendix B –
Section 48 – Title and
Risk of Loss
5
and have trained personnel qualified to service the
product furnished at the user agency within 48 hours."
please advise how this applies to a motor fuel bid.
The only sample that is representative of product
delivered is a sample taken directly from the delivery
vehicle. Samples taken from users pumps or tanks
should not be used to determine if a product meets
specifications because a supplier has no control over, or
responsibility for, the conditions in a user's tank, which
can affect the quality of the fuel after it is delivered.
Request that suppliers be able to comply with Cloud
Point, which requires the addition of ULSK, or Cold Filter
Plug Point, which can be achieved through the use
additives. ULSK, the addition of which is the only way to
lower the Cloud Point to meet winter specifications, is
not readily available in the southern service area.
The CFPP chart in 8.16 reflects different values than the
chart in 8.43. 8.22 States that the CFPP must be 27F
below the specified Cloud Point. 8.35 states 18F below
the Cloud Point. The chart in section 8.43 has some CFPP
temperatures that are 18F below the respective Cloud
Points, and others that are 27F below. While it is
possible to achieve a reduction on occasion of 27F, it is
highly dependent on the characteristics of the base ULSD,
and cannot be guaranteed. A reduction of 18F is much
more reasonable and achievable.
fuel, other than delivery of product. For example, Section 8.6 –
Sampling of Diesel Fuel Oil provides for sampling and testing of
product, and this could be considered a servicing of the product.
We acknowledge that samples taken directly from the truck best
represent the product delivered, however, the contract does
allow for sampling from the tank in certain situations. In general,
samples collected for testing and verification of fuel specifications
will be taken directly from the delivery trucks at the time of
delivery.
Requires Contractor to meet CFPP requirements for
biodiesel blends, which is achieved through the use of
premium additive packages, yet there is no requirement /
pricing for Premium biodiesel blends. Biodiesel blends
respond well to winter additive packages, request
addition of Premium biodiesel pricing.
Request a change to the first sentence to read
"Notwithstanding the form of shipment, title or other
property interest, risk of loss shall not pass from the
Contractor to the Authorized User until the Product has
been received and inspected at the time of delivery by
The bid price submitted shall be based on meeting all the
requirements. OGS declines to add additional, specific pricing
mechanisms.
The contract documents contain requirements for both cloud
point and cold filter plugging point, and both requirements must
be met.
We acknowledge the contradictions between these sections and
direct the suppliers to use the requirements listed in the Table in
Section 8.43 for cloud point and cold filter plugging point. Please
note that of the two requirements, cold filter plugging point is the
more important one and the contract includes a price deduction if
the specification for cold filter plugging point is not met (See
Sections 8.15 and 8.16).
OGS declines to make the requested change.
IFB#22781
23. IFB Appendix B –
Section 79 – Product
Acceptance
24. IFB Section 8.41
Requirements Summary
25. IFB Section 8.41
Requirements Summary
26. Attachment 01 Price
Pages
27. IFB Section 1.2
Estimated Quantities
the receiving entity. Acceptance shall occur at delivery."
Request change from "sixty (60) days from date of
delivery to accept all other Product" to "upon delivery to
accept all other Product."
Please clarify if the use of Kero (1D) would be required
under the contract even if the supplier can meet the
specifications for either Premium or Regular grade fuel,
solely with the use of approved additives?
Please clarify whether or not straight Kerosene (1D) can
be ordered as a stand-alone product under the contract,
or if ordering by end users would be limited to diesel fuel
that meets the contract fuel specifications and
requirements for a given time period (January, February,
etc.) only.
Understanding that for any product in which pricing is
offered, both a 1D and 2D price must be supplied, is the
supplier allowed to bid on select items under a particular
county, or must all items listed for a county be given a bid
price. For example, can a supplier bid on the B5
requirements while electing not to offer pricing for a B20
product under the same county?
Would you please provide a summary of actual usage by
product type over the last 12 months by bid area.
OGS declines to make the requested change.
For bidding purposes, bidders are required to bid both 1D and 2D
pricing for each item they bid.
This bid is intended to result in contracts to provide on-road use
only diesel and bio-diesel fuel. However, if a user requests
straight kerosene (1D), a contractor may deliver it, at their
discretion.
A supplier can bid on select items under a particular county, for
example, they can bid on the B5 but not bid on the B20
requirements.
28. Attachment 01 Price
Pages
On the pricing page, is the Price Per Gallon for each
product the finished price over the 3/13/14 reference
price per county or an adder to the 3/13/14 reference
price?
Historical usage is not complete. Usage as reported under award
22684 is in Attachment Named “22684ReportedUseage” posted
with the Bid Document files on the OGS website.
The Price Per Gallon for each product should be the price at
which the bidder proposes to furnish the product, inclusive of all
applicable customs, duties, taxes (including LUST), license fees
and surcharges, and the bidder’s mark-up.
29. IFB Section 7.21
Base calculation does not include premium diesel –
cannot verify base price.
Weekly price adjustments for the premium diesel utilize the same
adjustment as the 2D (regular) fuel type.
6
IFB#22781