Energy company Veolia considering Allegheny Airport Authority protest

Says it submitted low bid for 3-year pact

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Paul Skinner arrived at the Allegheny County Airport Authority board meeting Friday expecting his company, the low bidder, to be awarded a multi-million dollar contract to operate and maintain an energy plant at Pittsburgh International Airport.

But it was not, and Mr. Skinner wants to know why.

He told the authority’s board Friday that his firm, Veolia, is reserving the right to file a protest over the award, pending a legal review by the company’s counsel.

Veolia submitted the low bid of $4.2 million for the work, said Mr. Skinner, the firm’s business development manager. The authority board, however, voted to award the contract to DTE Pittsburgh, which bid $4.57 million. The contract runs for three years starting July 9, with four additional one-year options.

“It just caught me off guard,” Mr. Skinner said of Friday’s vote. “I expected to come here today and say, ‘Oh, yeah, we got it.’”

Veolia, headquartered in Paris with U.S. operations based in Boston, and DTE, were the only two bidders for the work.

In response to Mr. Skinner’s complaints, Bob Kerlik, an authority spokesman, said that Veolia “qualified” its bid and that made it nonresponsive.

“It was not in compliance with the bid specifications,” he said.

He declined further comment, citing the possibility of a bid protest hearing over the award.

While Mr. Kerlik said Veolia qualified its bid, Mr. Skinner said the company took “no exceptions” meaning “we won’t do this, we won’t do that.”

“We received no questions back asking us to clarify our bid or indicating that we were insufficient in any way,” he said.

The energy plant provides heating and air conditioning for Pittsburgh International.

Veolia also is involved in a dispute with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which has accused the company of “grossly mismanaging” its operations. Veolia, which was contracted to run the authority from July 2012 to December 2015, has disputed the claim, charging the PWSA has defamed it through “reckless and false statements.”

New lounge for travelers

In an unrelated matter, Pittsburgh International travelers will have access to a duty free shop as well as a common use lounge where they can grab a drink or relax before taking off starting Monday.

Meanwhile, the duty free shop and the common use lounge, both located in concourse C, the airport’s international wing, coincide with the start of service this month by new transatlantic carriers Wow Air and Condor Airlines.

Right now, the only airline lounge, the Admirals Club, available is operated by American for its members. The new lounge, to be run by Airport Lounge Development, will be available to any traveler for $40 a day. It will offer food, beverages, alcohol, and “quiet space” for relaxation.

“There are some passengers who appreciate that. It’s something we’re missing and we’re happy to offer it,” authority CEO Christina Cassotis said.

The duty free shop will be the airport’s first since 2004. Ms. Cassotis has said that she sees a need for such an amenity given Wow’s year-round service to Iceland and Condor’s seasonal service to Frankfurt and Delta’s seasonal flight to Paris. The new Wow service starts Friday and the new Condor flight on June 23..

International travelers can avoid taxes on liquor, cigarettes, cosmetics, and others goods they buy at the duty free shop as long as they take the purchases out of the country.