Note: This story was updated at 11:12 a.m.
Bids expire today on a nuclear production contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas.
On Monday, NNSA Public Affairs Director Joshua McConaha said the National Nuclear Security Administration could either announce a winner today (Tuesday) or extend the expiration date. The NNSA announced Tuesday morning that top officials, including Administrator Thomas D’Agostino, will have a 4:15 p.m. teleconference to discuss a major contract award.
McConaha said the contract bids were submitted last year, and the expiration date has been extended once already.
McConaha said he can’t confirm the total number of bids or the bidding teams.
When announced, the winner will have the first consolidated contract to manage and operate Y-12 and Pantex. The government also has the option to have the winner manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.
The contract winner would be responsible for Y-12 security, and there is also an option for design and construction management of the Uranium Processing Facility, McConaha said.
B&W Y-12 took over the security guard force at Y-12 in October and hired 560 former WSI Oak Ridge employees after the security contract with WSI was terminated following the July 28 security breach.
Still in the design stage, the UPF could cost up to $6.5 billion, and it would consolidate uranium operations at Y-12.
The consolidated Y-12/Pantex contract is expected to save hundreds of millions of dollars during the next decade. Federal officials are looking for operational efficiencies, including through the NNSA Production Office, or NPO, which was created in June and oversees nuclear production missions at Y-12 and Pantex.
“We’ve already started to see some of that,” McConaha said of the expected efficiencies.
Y-12 is now operated by B&W Y-12, and Pantex is managed and operated by Babcock & Wilcox Technical Service Pantex LLC.
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