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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFI - 9958 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)1 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 9958 ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI) I. INTRODUCTION The City of Fort Collins Utilities (CFCU) is engaging in project research and is extending an invitation for firms to prepare a brief overview of their offerings and qualifications to provide a turn-key Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. Based on an assessment of the submittals, the CFCU will invite selected firms to participate in an on-site demonstration and discussion of your company's offerings. Information garnered from these discussions may be used to support the development of a budget offer for project funding and a scope of work for a future Request for Proposal (RFP). This is only an opportunity to share your interest to participate in an on-site demonstration and discussion with Utilities and must not be construed as intent, commitment or promise to acquire any products or services from any of the participants. II. OBJECTIVE The objective of this Request for Information (RFI) is to identify your company’s qualifications, interest, and ability to provide a turn-key implementation of an AMI system to meet our current and future needs. If the City pursues a new AMI solution it is anticipated the scope of work for the RFP and resulting selected firm will provision all elements of the solution. Initial priorities are reliability, implementation, support, supply chain, safety, conservation, total cost of ownership, and customer engagement. The AMI solution is expected to be a scalable platform that ultimately addresses smart electric and water concepts. All ideas, information, and opportunities available and shared are welcome. Fort Collins Utilities would like to understand all available options that apply to modern AMI solutions and services. All comprehensive, broadly integrated, innovative, value-added, roadmap-oriented solutions are encouraged. III. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The CFCU provides five critical services including electricity, water, stormwater, wastewater, and internet. An overview of the infrastructure utilizing AMI follows. Light & Power Fort Collins Light & Power Utility covers approximately fifty-five square miles with 99% underground and approximately 12,000 municipal streetlights, 2,000 miles of primary conductor cable, 650 floodlights, 8,600 transformers, 10 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, 7 substations, 46% renewable energy, and 1,851 miles of distribution lines. Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6775 970.221.6707- fax fcgov.com/purchasing Water Fort Collins Water Utility serves 8.8 billion gallons, 27,006 acre-feet per year of water to approximately 181,691 people. One water treatment facility and 556.8 miles of water main deliver treated water to customers. Two water reclamation facilities treat wastewater before it’s returned to the river. Customer Data Type Electric Water Residential 70,000 32,535 Industrial 13 Large Commercial 500 304 Small Commercial 8,600 2,789 AMI is an important part of the City’s initiative to achieve our climate and energy goals detailed in the City’s Our Climate Future plan. Our Climate Future Plan Our Climate Future (OCF) is a comprehensive plan to simultaneously address climate, energy and waste goals while improving our community’s equity and resilience. OCF articulates an unwavering commitment to mitigating and adapting to climate change with a people-first systems-approach. OCF implementation intensifies our community efforts to achieve these goals: • Reduce 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2005 baseline levels. • Provide 100% renewable electricity by 2030 with grid and local sources. • Achieve zero waste, or 100% landfill diversion, by 2030. IV. HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ON-SITE DISCUSSIONS Interested and qualified firms are encouraged to submit a brief overview of your firm’s offerings and qualifications to provide a turn-key AMI system. The CFCU does not require a lengthy submittal or expect firms to address all the elements stated below in paragraph V. Based on the CFCU’s assessment of the submittals, CFCU will schedule selected firms to participate in an on-site meeting with the City of Fort Collins AMI solutions leader. The discussions are intended to provide firms with an opportunity to deliver a comprehensive demonstration and allow CFCU staff and leadership an opportunity to discuss technical, operational, and strategic topics related to the offering. CFCU anticipates the meetings will take place in April and May of 2024. The deadline for submittals is April 5, 2024. Invitations for on-site discussions will be scheduled by CFCU shortly after the submittals are received. Responses to this RFI are due not later than April 5, 2024 and should be email to Gerry Paul, Purchasing Director at gspaul@fcgov.com with a copy to Phillip Amaya, Light & Power Director at pamaya@fcgov.com. Any questions should also be emailed to Gerry Paul and Phillip Amaya. V. SCOPE OF ON-SITE DISCUSSIONS At a minimum, please be ready to discuss solutions and opportunities your company can deliver for: • Budgetary cost details for one-time implementation costs and on-going recurrent costs to include 10 year total cost of ownership estimate. • Transponder and head end options to support a gradual transition from the current AMI versus a full replacement • Communications options—wired and wireless • Communications challenges currently experienced • Transponder roadmap • Meter roadmap (if your company is a manufacturer) • Manufacturing and supply chain overview for transponders, meters, and communications systems, including current and lagging delivery delays experienced • Auto correcting features for transponders, communications, and head end systems for: o Missing and incorrect reads o Communication issues • System functionality features for: o Power Quality Monitoring – Electric o Water Quality Monitoring – Water o Conservation Programs Support- Both Water & Electric o Outage Detection – Both Water & Electric o Line Loss Detection - Electric o Leak Detection – Both Water & Electric o Analytics for staff and customers – Both Water & Electric o Safety Enhancement - Both Water & Electric • Standard integration practices with Customer Information Systems (CIS), Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS), Outage Management System (OMS), and Work Order Management Systems • Expected timeline for proposed solution VI. MISCELLANEOUS A copy of the RFI may be obtained at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/city-of-fort-collins. This is ONLY a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) and should not be construed as intent, commitment or promise to acquire the products and services presented by respondents. Participation in this RFI is not a prerequisite to participating in any future RFP the City may initiate as part of any AMI initiative. The City will not be obligated to any respondent as a result of this RFI. The City are not obligated for any cost incurred whatsoever by respondents in the preparation of the Request for Information. Confidential or proprietary information should not be included in your response. The City of Fort Collins Utilities is a governmental entity subject to the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. § 24-72-200, et seq. (CORA) and any documents submitted to the City may be considered public records subject to disclosure under the CORA.