The bid prices quoted by the bidder for the scope of supply and services offered are usually referred to as ‘base bid prices’. They can be fixed, firm, unit prices or just budgetary/estimated prices, which the bidder shall indi­cate in his bid.

A fixed price is binding on the bidder if it is accepted by the owner during the bid validity period. However, it is not subject to adjustment as a result of escalation and is based on the delivery of the item at the commercial operation date (COD) of the plant.

A firm price is also binding on the bidder if it is accepted by the owner during the bid validity period and is subject to adjustment as a result of escalation. The bidder shall include in his bid the escalation formula appli­cable to each firm price.

The bidders will be requested to submit a price breakdown in their bid. The level of price breakdown should be sufficient to enable financial evalu­ation of the bid and its comparison with other bids. The IAEA accounts system (IAEA, 2000) provides good guidance regarding price breakdown level. The bidder’s price breakdown schedule should clearly indicate the kind of price associated with each scope package or item: whether it is fixed price not subject to escalation, firm price subject to escalation, unit prices, budgetary prices, or any other price category foreseen in the CC document. In summary, the bidder shall specify which part of the bid is quoted fixed price, which part is firm price with escalation and which parts are quoted in other price categories.

When it comes to price breakdown, it should be understood that bidders may be reluctant to provide a high level of detail in the segregation of the bid price. Scope packages or items quoted as fixed/firm prices should require no breakdown or a small one. A reasonable and practical level of price breakdown that can be requested from the bidder is to indicate the price for each major account (for example, for each two-digit or three-digit account) of the IAEA accounts system (IAEA, 2000).

For scope packages and items quoted as non-fixed/firm prices, the owner should request from the bidder a higher level of detail for the price break­down, to set the basis for negotiations.

Following are some aspects to be considered when specifying the level of price information to be provided by the bidder: [108]

a single currency, in which case the fluctuation in the exchange rates with respect to the common currency will be at the bidder’s charge.

• Prices should preferably be presented in tabular form, with a row assigned to each scope item for which a segregated price is offered. Typical column headings of the price table are scope item number and description, price type (e. g. fixed/firm, unit price, budgetary price), per­centage of price in foreign and/or local currency, and remarks (if necessary).

19.12.1 Price revisions

As indicated above, the base prices quoted may be fixed and not subject to escalation, or firm and subject to escalation, or any other type of non-fixed/ firm price. The owner shall specify in the CC document of the BIS his requirements concerning the methodology and price adjustment formulae to be proposed by the bidder. Typically there should be more than one price adjustment formula. For example, there can be:

• One price adjustment formula for the revision of the base price of scope items associated with the delivery of services for which only labour cost indices will be used

• One (or more) price adjustment formula for the revision of base prices quoted for the scope of supply items involving manufacture or construction, for which both labour and material cost indices will have to be considered in the formula. More than one material cost index may also be included in the formula, when different categories of mate­rials having differentiated cost variation over time are used in the manufacture.

The labour and material cost indices used in the price adjustment formu­lae shall be those published by an official institute of the country of refer­ence and should have a long record of publication (at least 10-15 years). Should any index be discontinued, the index which officially replaces the discontinued one shall be applied from then on; when there is no index to officially replace the discontinued one, the owner and the successful bidder (the contractor) shall agree on the selection and application of another existing and widely recognised index that reflects as closely as possible the same items and provides results similar to those of the original index.