Public Works and Government Services Canada has invited proposals from suppliers of public-private partnership advisory services for its “energy service acquisition project.”
According to its request for proposal, issued Friday, the government “anticipates moving from operating energy assets and delivering services toward service management.” Public Works would become an “informed buyer” of energy services, rather than the operator, it says.
Public Works is seeking “an innovative solution that is greener, cleaner and more cost-effective through a business arrangement, which could be similar to a public-private partnership (P3) type arrangement,” the document says.
The objective is “to obtain maximum value from existing assets, predictable capitalization and operating costs, best value when establishing generation and distribution capabilities, and ultimately, best value for the Canadian taxpayer.”
The department says the successful bidder’s expertise will be used to draw up a request for proposal “with regard to the future development, ownership, management and use” of the government’s heating and cooling infrastructure in the National Capital Region.
In an email Friday, Public Works said the P3 approach is one of a “range of business model options” it is considering, but no decision has been made yet.
“The government will in due course consider the implications, benefits and costs of this project in the broader federal fiscal and environmental contexts,” the email stated.
Public Works currently operates seven plants that funnel high-pressure steam, high-temperature hot water or chilled water through 40 kilometres of pipeline to heat or cool more than 100 federal buildings in the capital.
Its Cliff distribution network alone contains three plants and serves 52 buildings housing about 50,000 federal employees in downtown Ottawa, including the Parliament Buildings, National Defence Headquarters, the Supreme Court of Canada building and the National Gallery of Canada.
Other plants serve 18 buildings at Tunney’s Pasture, 15 buildings at Confederation Heights, 11 buildings at Natural Resources Canada’s campus on Booth Street, and four buildings at the RCMP Headquarters on the Vanier Parkway. Four of the plants also redistribute electricity to the buildings they serve.
In 2009, then public works minister Christian Paradis announced plans for industry consultations to identify the most environmentally responsible and cost-effective way of meeting the government’s energy requirements in Ottawa.
“Meeting the energy needs of our office buildings is not only a major expense but it has significant impact on our environment,” Paradis said at the time. “Some of these buildings are over 50 years old, using technology from the 1950s. It is time to rethink how we do things.”
In June, John McBain, an assistant deputy minister at Public Works, told the Canadian District Energy Association’s annual conference that partnerships with the private sector were key to finding further efficiencies.
McBain said the business community has shown significant interest in the project, with some even suggesting the expansion of the district energy network “beyond the federal portfolio” of buildings, according to a report by Property Biz Canada.
The vital nature of the current system was made clear in October 2009, when a boiler exploded at the 91-year-old Cliff heating plant, located a bit west of the Supreme Court and east of Library and Archives Canada. As well as killing a plant worker, the explosion forced the government to scramble to provide heat to dozens of key downtown buildings.
Public Works hastily installed additional boilers at another heating plant in Gatineau to supply heat until a temporary boiler plant could be constructed adjacent to the Cliff plant.
“With the onset of winter imminent,” the department said in a Nov. 27, 2009 release, “these undertakings are critical to the operation of Parliament and the Government of Canada.”
The P3 advisory services, which are required until March 31, 2013, are part of the first phase of the energy service acquisition project, the request for proposal document says. Subsequent phases are optional, “subject to approval and funding,” and could extend to March 31, 2018.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Don Butler
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