[Protest of BPA Evaluation of Bid for Financial Analysis and Accounting Services]

A firm protested the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) evaluation of its bid for financial analysis and accounting support services, contending that BPA: (1) improperly downgraded its technical proposal; (2) was biased against small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) improperly included a binding arbitration clause in the solicitation. GAO held that: (1) BPA reasonably gave the protester little credit for its limited experience and availability of experienced personnel; (2) the solicitation did not include any evaluation preference for small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) the protester untimely filed after bid opening its protest regarding solicitation improprieties. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.