Request for Proposal. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

Transcription

1 Request for Proposal Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) For City of Sullivan, IL 2 W Harrison St Sullivan, IL March 2, 2018

2 1. Overview The City of Sullivan, IL, is a town with a population of 4400 with approximately 2681 electric customers, 2481 gas customers, and 2374 water customers. The City has a desire to modernize its metering infrastructure to improve operational efficiency and outage response time. We are looking for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to remotely read all meters from our central building. 2. Current System We implemented a drive by system in 2010/2011 that utilizes Itron ERT readings. Water Our Water Department has 2142 residential customers and 232 commercial customers. We are currently using Badger meters with either a 60W or 100W Itron ERT. Most meters are located in pits, with the exception of most newer houses built within the last 10 years having meters in basements or garages. Gas Our Gas Department has 2213 residential, 251 commercial, 6 industrial-interrupt, and 11 industrial-non-interrupt customers. The gas meters vary in makes/models/sizes, but most are fitted with an Itron ERT system. Of the 2475 gas meters, 2397 are being read with the ITRON ERT system, and 78 are still read by hand, due to the volume of large and mismatched meters. We are requesting a bid with the ability to read at least the 2397 that we were able to convert to the ERT system. If you are able to come up with a system or solution to read the other 78 gas meters, please let us know and give detail and a separate price for those. Electric Our Electric Department has the following customers: Electric Residential = 2298 Electric- Residential Solar/Net Metering = 1 Electric Small Commercial 1 PH = 240 Electric Small Commercial 1 PH 15 KVA = 17 Electric Small Commercial 1 PH 75 KVA = 2

3 Electric Small Commercial 3 PH =51 Electric Small Commercial 3 PH 30 KVA = 26 Electric Small Commercial 3 PH 225 KVA = 17 Electric Small Commercial 3 PH 750 KVA = 4 Electric Large Commercial 10 Electric Industrial 3 Electric Demand, Large Commercial, 3 PH 30 KVA = 1 Electric Demand, Large Commercial, 3 PH 225 KVA = 6 Electric Demand, Large Commercial 3 PH 750 KVA = 2 Electric Demand, Industrial 3 PH 750 KVA = 1 Electric Demand, Industrial, 3 PH, 2000 KVA = 2 Total Electric Customers = 2681 We currently have the following types of meters deployed: Itron CL320, 240V 3W Itron CL20, 240V, 3W Itron CL20, 240V 2W Itron CL200, 240V 3W Itron Sentinel Multimeasurement Meter, CL20, V Itron Sentinel Multimeasurement Meter, CL200, V Itron C1SDR3 FM2S CL V 3W Bi Directional meter All Electric Meters are using the Itron ERT system. Additional Information to Be Provided The City of Sullivan has a GIS system with the location of our current gas, water, and electric meters. We are happy to share those shapefiles with you so that you may be able to design a system to fit our needs. We can also share other assets with you if necessary (our fiber network, poles, City-owned towers, etc). Contact Monte Johnson to request data or information: montej@sullivanil.us (217) Scope of Work The Proposer shall provide and install all of the hardware and software that together comprise the proposed AMI system. This includes data collection units, handheld programmers (if necessary), AMI control computers, a meter reading database or meter data management

4 system (MDMS), and related software and interfaces. The City will install electric, gas, and water meters, or the heads required to go on the existing meters. A separate price proposal may be listed for the City to install the collection system, but technical support and detailed instructions would be required. The proposal must include all costs for network deployment and data collector unit installation, configuration, testing and training. All site preparation and installation costs must be reflected in the data collection unit pricing. Respondent should provide at least five (5) references of water and electric combo utilities using the proposed system that has been installed or supported by the respondents for over 2 years, including one reference with a gas system. Include how long the system has been in operation, the total size of the utility, and how many endpoints are currently deployed. 4. Reservations The buyer reserves the right to reject any or all RFP responses or any part thereof and/or to waive formalities, if such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the buyer. The buyer is requiring a proposal for all necessary components to acquire a Fixed Base AMI project. The Proposer must include all components and be willing to supply any component of the RFP which the buyer in its sole discretion shall award; the buyer will accept only those components that are deemed to be in its best interest. The buyer understands that product choice will affect other components (ex: meters and registers, etc.) and as such requires that all components awarded under this RFP shall be from the same Proposer. The buyer reserves the right to cancel any contract, if in its opinion, there be a failure at any time to perform adequately to the stipulations of these conditions and the RFP which is attached and made part of this document, or in case of any attempt to willfully impose upon the buyer materials or products or workmanship which are, in the opinion of the buyer, of unacceptable quality. Any action taken in pursuance of this stipulation shall not affect or impair any rights or claim of the buyer to damages for the breach of any covenants of the contract by the successful Proposer. The buyer also reserves the right to reject the RFP and/or any Proposer who has previously failed to perform adequately after having been awarded a prior contract. Should the successful Proposer fail to furnish any item or items, or to complete the required work included in the RFP, the buyer reserves the right to withdraw such items or required work from the operation of the RFP without incurring further liabilities on the part of the buyer thereby. All items furnished must be completely new and free from defects unless specified otherwise. No other items will be accepted under the terms and intent of the contract.

5 5. Requests for Clarification, and Suggested Changes The contact designated and identified below, is the sole point of contact for the buyer regarding the RFP from the date of issuance until the selection of the successful Proposer. Monte Johnson, City Clerk 2 West Harrison Sullivan, IL montej@sullivanil.us All questions regarding the project must be submitted to Mr. Johnson or before May 1, The use of is encouraged. All inquiries should be marked URGENT INQUIRY RFP ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI) SYSTEM. If the questions, requests for clarifications, or suggestions pertain to a specific section of the RFP, the section number(s) must be referenced. If a respondent discovers any significant ambiguity, error, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other deficiency in this RFP, the respondent should immediately notify the City Clerk in writing of such error and request modification or clarification of the RFP document. The buyer assumes no responsibility for verbal representations made by its officials or employees unless such representations are confirmed in writing and incorporated into the RFP. Proposers must inform themselves fully of the conditions relating to the proposal. Failure to do so will not relieve a successful proposer of his or her obligation to furnish all services required to carry out the provisions of this contract. The contractor, in carrying out the work, must employ such methods or means as will not cause any interruption of, or interference with, the work of any other contractor. The Proposer shall, in its preparation and presentation of its proposal, account and calculate compliance with the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act with respect to payment to any and all of Proposer s employees who perform labor on Buyer s project. 6. Submission of Proposals Proposers must furnish all information necessary to evaluate the bid proposal. Offers that fail to meet the mandatory requirements of the RFP will be disqualified. Verbal information provided by the Proposer shall not be considered part of the Proposer's response. Proposers must submit the original and two (2) printed copies of their Proposal, and supporting materials by: May 30, 2018, at 4:00 p.m.

6 Please mail the response to: City of Sullivan Attn: Monte Johnson 2 W Harrison St Sullivan, IL Clearly mark remitting Proposal: "SEALED PROPOSAL Advanced Metering Infrastructure System. Intent to Bid We also ask vendors to submit an intent to bid to montej@sullivail.us by 4/1/2018. Vendors providing the intent to bid will be included on communications for any Addendum and answers to any questions or clarifications to the RFP. 7. Proposal Requirements This section outlines the information that must be included in your proposal. Vendors should review this list to ensure that their proposals include all requested information prior to submission. - The proposal must be signed and dated by a representative of the vendor's company who is authorized to negotiate contracts. - Vendors submitting proposals should allow for normal mail or delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their Proposal. - Failure to include any of the requested information within your Proposal may result in rejection/disqualification. - No negotiations, decisions, or actions shall be executed by the proposer as a result of any discussions with any City of Sullivan official, employee and/or consultant. Only those transactions provided in written form from the City of Sullivan may be considered binding. Also, the City of Sullivan will honor only written and signed transactions from proposers. - The costs of preparation and delivery of the bid proposal are solely the responsibility of the Proposer. No payments shall be made by the buyer to cover costs incurred by any proposer in the preparation of or the submission of a proposal in response to this RFP or any other associated costs. - The contents of each vendor's proposal, including technical specifications for hardware and software, and hardware and software maintenance fees, shall remain valid for a minimum of 120 calendar days from the proposal due date. - Please note that the City of Sullivan may not purchase all the applications or all the equipment listed in this Request for Proposal - The City of Sullivan will be awarding a contract to a single vendor for all core applications. Vendors are allowed to provide a proposal that includes subcontractors, but the City of Sullivan will be entering into a single agreement with one vendor acting as a Prime. The Prime

7 contractor will be responsible for the timeliness, quality, and deliverables provided by any subcontractors under the Prime contractor's agreement. 8. Deviations to Specifications On all required items, the Proposer shall indicate clearly the product (brand and model number). Please provide detailed specification sheets with your proposal. In addition, all deviations from the specifications must be noted in detail by the proposer, in writing, at the time of the submittal of the formal RFP response. The absence of a written list of specification deviations at the time of submittal of the RFP response will hold the proposer strictly accountable to the buyer to the specifications as written. Deviations not submitted, as required by the above, will be grounds for rejection of the material and/or equipment when delivered. 9. Warranty All equipment, accessories, and component parts shall be guaranteed by the proposer to be free of defects in workmanship and design and to operate as specified and intended. The manufacturer s standard warranty or a minimum one year warranty, whichever is greater, shall be given to the buyer at time of acceptance. The effective date of the warranty shall be the date of acceptable delivery by the buyer. COPIES OF THE MANUFACTURER S WARRANTY SHALL BE INCLUDED WITH EACH RFP RESPONSE. If, within the guarantee period, any defect or signs of deterioration are noted, which, in the opinion of the buyer, are due to faulty design and installation, workmanship, or materials, upon notification, the successful proposer, at their expense, shall repair or adjust the equipment or parts to correct the condition, or they shall replace the part or entire unit to the complete satisfaction of the buyer. These repairs, replacements or adjustments shall be made only at such time as will be designated by the buyer as least detrimental to the operation of the business. Proposer must be capable of processing warranty claims. 10. Interpretation Should any proposer have any questions as to the intent or meaning of any part of this RFP, he should contact the buyer in time to receive a written reply before submitting his response. 11. Errors in Proposals Proposers or their authorized representatives are expected to fully inform themselves as to the conditions, requirements, and specifications before submitting their response. Failure to do so will be at the proposer s own risk and cannot secure relief on the plea of error. Neither law nor regulations make allowances for errors by either omission or commission on the part of the proposer. In case of error in extensions or price in the bid, the unit price shall govern.

8 It shall be the responsibility of the proposer to make sure that his response arrives at the proper place and time as required in the RFP. The buyer takes no responsibility for a response mailed to the wrong place, or for a response received late due to error or delay caused by the Postal Service. The proposer should allow himself ample time and opportunity when hand carrying a response to the proper place, so that the response will be received on time. 12. Federal and State Laws All items (equipment, products, accessories, and services) supplied by the proposer shall comply with all Federal and State standards, applicable and effective on the date of acceptance. All items must meet or exceed all existing Federal, State, and Local health, safety, lighting, emissions, and noise standards. 13. Tax Implications The buyer shall pay no sales, use, consumer, and like taxes, when applicable. The proposer shall be responsible for securing at its sole expense any other necessary approvals, assessments, or required zoning changes. The buyer shall be responsible for personal property taxes and real estate taxes on the project. The proposer shall be responsible for all taxes measured by the proposer s income. 14. Service Manuals The successful proposer shall supply the buyer with two copies (hard copy and electronic copy) of the operation and service manual at the time of project acceptance. Service Proposers shall list the name and address of the nearest authorized service location. Proposers must provide service phone number and describe the hours of duty. 15. Equipment Specifications Proposed equipment must meet the specifications and guidelines as stated herein. 16. Qualified Proposers Only It is the intention of the buyer to value service components after the sale as due and valuable consideration in this bid. As a provision of this requirement, all proposers shall meet the minimum requirements as follows: - The proposer must be the factory authorized distributor for the AMI system proposed and be capable of processing the warranty claims for the buyer. - The proposer must have an on-staff, factory trained AMI support specialist with the sole responsibility of providing AMI system support and sales.

9 17. Ongoing Service Requirements Proposer must provide a detailed service plan for the ongoing AMI support. Service plan must detail options for providing service and technical support and meter inventory over the product usage period. Support services also need to be provided by in-house employees. Subcontractors will not be accepted. 18. Rights of Parties The buyer retains the right to award or not award the contract or any portion herein to the party most qualified in the buyer s sole discretion. Responding firms shall have the right to withdraw their response in the event that selection is not made within 70 days or final contracts are not negotiated. In this event, the buyer will have the right to choose from other subcontractors or re-list the work as outlined. 19. Proven System The proposed Fixed Base AMI technology manufacturer must have produced a fixed base system that has been in commercial use for a minimum of five years and must have a substantial number of completed water and/or electric and/or gas fixed base systems currently deployed. Of the deployed systems, the manufacturer should have at least five (5) combined water and electric account utilizing its technology. To ensure the reliability of the system proposed, the manufacturer should have in service an acceptable number (50,000 or more) of AMI endpoint transmitters of the proposed equipment type.

10 Questions and Response Form Feel free to use a separate sheet to answer questions and/or have them included in your submittal. Please tell us the following: Can your AMI meters be uniquely identified in the network? How often will your AMI electric meters provide reads? Do your AMI electric meters have the ability to monitor and report voltage? Do your AMI electric meters support remote programming? Do your AMI electric meters support two-way communications? Do your AMI electric meters support outage detection, restoration, and voltage issue reporting? Please let us know what other types of alerts or reports your system can do. Do your AMI electric meters support remote disconnect and reconnect for residential meters? Do your AMI electric meters support the ability for three-phase meters to report kw, kvar, demand, and power factor? Would we have the ability to reset demand on the AMI electric meters that report demand? Does your system allow for a prepay option? The City of Sullivan would like to remotely disconnect a select number of locations. Can we pick the number of disconnect meters, and also have the ability to add/change to disconnect meters in the future? How will the system backhaul from collection devices? Do we have multiple options, such as cellular, fiber, WiFi, RF, microwave radios, others? Please give us your opinion on which system you think would work best for us in combination with your system. Multiple options may be

11 listed, along with price differences and pros/cons of each type of system. The City currently owns its own fiber network, but it is not spread out through the entire city. Do we have the ability to use that fiber network? Or could we use the fiber network in connection with other options? Or would we have the ability to expand in the future? Or the ability to change our type of access point in the future? Please let us know all of the options we have with your system. Does your system have the ability to read our current water ERT products? Or will we have to purchase/install a new water reading system? If we have to purchase a new water reading system, how often will it be able to provide reads? Will water leak detection be an option? Does your system have the ability to read our current gas ERT products? Or will we have to purchase/install a new gas reading system? If we have to purchase a new gas reading system, how often will it be able to provide reads? Does your system have the ability to read our current electric ERT products? Will we have to purchase/install all new electric meters? Or do we have the option to leave current electric ERT meters in place and mix and match with the new electric system? Our current billing system is Caselle Clarity. Can your system interact with and/or can we download readings from your system into our current billing system? Please explain how that process would work. Will you provide training on your AMI network management system? Please explain. Will you provide implementation support (trouble shooting, network provisioning, etc)? We are unsure if we want an off-site hosted system, or if we want our purchase own server to handle all of the data. Please provide the costs for both of these systems, assuming you offer both types. Also, what are the annual/recurring costs for each type of system? The City of Sullivan assumes that we will have the ability to install any new electric meters and/or switch any gas/water equipment necessary. Will you be installing the collectors/modems/repeaters, or whatever other equipment is necessary in the field? Would you be installing and configuring our server assuming we purchase an on-site system?

12 We have a collection of gas meters for customers approximately 5 miles west of the City. There are currently none of our electric meters in this area to help with backhaul or to pass readings. Is there a way to remotely read those meters in your system? We have a collection of water and gas meters for our customers approximately 2 miles south of the City. There are currently none of our electric meters in this area to help with backhaul or to pass readings. Is there a way to read those meters remotely in your system? Costs: In addition to answering the above questions, please provide all costs for your proposed system, including the following: 1) Cost of a Locally Hosted System vs Remotely Hosted System 2) Annual fees for each type of system 3) Any installation costs for the system (installation/deployment costs of network infrastructure and server (if installed) 4) Any database setup or billing integration costs 5) Project engineering, training, system design, travel costs, etc. 6) Unit cost per meter for each different type of electric meter we may need 7) Unit cost per meter for each type of water meter/accessory we may need 8) Unit cost per meter for each type of gas meter/accessory we may need 9) A detailed cost of each type of network asset we may need (router, repeater, collector, etc) 10) A detailed explanation of the cost differences for each different type of backhaul system that you may recommend (cellular vs RF vs fiber vs any other type of system, or a combination of those).