DOE, UT-Battelle could negotiate five-year contract extension at ORNL

The U.S. Department of Energy and UT-Battelle could negotiate a five-year contract extension at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, officials said Thursday.

The current contract ends in March 2015. If granted, the extension would allow UT-Battelle to manage the lab though 2020. UT-Battelle is a nonprofit partnership between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, announced the potential contract extension during a special holiday meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council on Thursday. ETEC had asked DOE to not rebid the contract—but extend it instead, Fleischmann said.

The congressman said the negotiations over a possible extension were based on a “job well-done” at the premier lab.

ORNL Director Thom Mason said there is a bias toward competition in federal contracts, but UT-Battelle’s performance has been strong enough during the past 15 years that the extension could be considered. The bias toward competition has to be balanced against the potential disruption and uncertainty of contract competitions and costs, Mason said.

He expressed relief that ORNL might not have to go through a disruption like that experienced at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The winner of a consolidated contract to manage those two nuclear weapons plants was announced almost a year ago, but the transition still isn’t complete and federal officials are now responding to a third round of bid protests.

Mason said UT-Battelle will negotiate the contract extension at ORNL with Johnny Moore, manager of DOE’s ORNL Site Office.

UT-Battelle has managed ORNL for DOE since April 2000. The contract was also extended in 2005 and 2010.

ORNL has a budget of about $1.5 billion per year, although that could drop to $1.4 billion this year.

ORNL has close to 4,500 workers, and it is DOE’s largest multidisciplinary science lab.