REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 04/17/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Title
AWARD A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT TO FERGUSON ENTERPRISES, LLC TO PROVIDE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT, INSTALLATION OF THE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE, APPROPRIATION OF $7,303,581 FROM THE WATER UTILITY FUND 570 TO CITYWIDE AMI METER REPLACEMENT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. UT-2022-03, AND A MAINTENANCE/GENERAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR ONGOING NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to award a Professional Services Agreement for the Request for Proposal No. 23-019CA Advanced Metering Infrastructure Equipment to Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, to provide Advanced Metering Infrastructure equipment, install the network infrastructure and a data management system for the Citywide Advanced Metering Infrastructure Meter Replacement Capital Improvement Project No. UT-2022-03 and an appropriation of $7,303,581 from the Water Utility Fund 570. Additionally, staff report requests to set up a Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC and integrated Software as a Service agreement with Neptune Technology Group, Inc., to maintain the existing R450 network until it is decommissioned upon installation of the new R900 network and to provide ongoing network and meter data management system, Neptune 360 support during and after project completion. Lastly, the staff report requests authorization to set up a purchase order for the City’s warehouse to replenish meter inventory for new development projects and future meter replacements.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Award Request for Proposals No. 23-019CA Advanced Metering Infrastructure equipment to Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, and approve the Professional Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, in the amount of $15,042,643 through September 30, 2026.
b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Professional Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, and to negotiate and execute non-substantive extensions, purchase orders, change orders, and amendments up to 10% of the total contract cost or $1,504,264.
c. Authorize an appropriation of $7,303,581 from the Water Utility Fund 570 to the Citywide Advanced Metering Infrastructure Replacement Capital Improvement Project No. UT-2022-03.
d. Approve the Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC in the amount of $150,000 per fiscal year for ongoing network and data management services support.
e. Approve and authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Software as Service Agreement with Neptune Technology Group, Inc. for support of the meter data management system, Neptune 360.
f. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a Purchase Order to Ferguson Enterprises, LLC in the amount of $300,000 per fiscal year through June 30, 2030, to replenish the warehouse meter inventory.
g. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute and negotiate non-substantive extensions, purchase orders, and change orders up to 10% of total purchase order amount or $30,000 as authorized by Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.080(I).
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On June 16, 2021, the City Council approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Capital Improvement Plan, which included the Citywide Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Meter Replacement Capital Improvement Project (UT-2022-03). This project will replace and/or retrofit City-wide direct-read water meters with AMI meters. By completing the project, the Utilities Department (UD) will obtain real-time remote meter reads throughout the day and allow customers to monitor their usage and detect leaks in real-time, which will be crucial to achieving regulatory water savings requirements from the State in the upcoming years. Approximately 46,500 meters will need to be upgraded or replaced as part of the AMI Meter Replacement Project.
The City issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 23-019CA for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Implementation on May 4, 2023. The services solicited for this RFP included a new meter reading system including water meters, transmitters, network collectors/gateways, and a Head End System (HES)/Meter Data Management System (MDMS). The UD’s objective is to ensure that the proposed solution provides a robust AMI network capable of communicating with 100% of the City water services; replace all meters and transmitters that are older than eight years; ensure meter boxes and lids are conducive to two-way AMI network communications; achieve greater than 99% read performance rate; provide access to near-real-time data that supports identification of abnormal water usage; reduce water loss through system alerts and notifications; improve water conservation; reduce long-term operating costs; and ensure forward compatibility of system for an operational period of no less than 15 years.
A total of five proposals were received. Four out of the five proposals were from responsive and responsible bidders and were evaluated based on the following criteria:
|
Evaluation Sector/Factor |
Section Weight |
|
Demonstrated Quality of Responder and Subcontractor for AMI Implementation and Post-Project Service |
25% |
|
Design and Functionality of Network |
15% |
|
MDMS Functionality and Features |
5% |
|
Experience with AUS Integration (both current and future version types) |
5% |
|
Presentation of Qualified References and Quality of Feedback |
10% |
|
Technical Specifications Compliance |
25% |
|
Similar Projects / Experience |
15% |
|
Total Score 1 |
100% |
The evaluation team consisted of UD staff members and the City’s consultant, MeterSYS. The written proposals were graded and ranked, and the top two firms were invited to provide an oral presentation and to answer additional questions from the evaluation panel. The final ranking is shown in the table below.
|
Rank |
Vendor |
AMI Meter Brand |
|
1 |
Ferguson |
Neptune |
|
2 |
Aqua-Metric |
Sensus |
|
3 |
Core and Main |
Kamstrup |
|
4 |
AmCoBi |
Diehl |
ANALYSIS:
Ferguson Enterprises, LLC.’s (Ferguson) proposal was ranked as the top proposal due to their ability to meet the City’s requirements. Ferguson has nearly 70 years of industry experience and has a long partnership with Neptune, who has built a 130-year track record of dependable Meter and Automation technology. Ferguson has a local branch in Riverside, CA, to provide support to Cities and Water Districts with AMI systems. Neptune can deploy both fixed network and cellular endpoints to create a flexible and scalable AMI network. Ferguson’s proposed fixed LoRaWAN network will consist of 19 collectors providing 90% redundancy and 100% coverage. The meter endpoints offer dual transmission for Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and AMI.
Approximately 5,000 of the City’s existing water meters are Neptune-encoded registers with transmitters that communicate over Neptune’s legacy R450 system, which are in various stages of operational condition. The R450 system was deployed to automate the reads of newly built apartment complexes and subdivision developments starting in 2012. Due to the current isolated network design, limitations experienced by the collector and transmitter placement inside a metal cabinet, and the sunset of the system by the manufacturer, the City plans to fully phase out this solution and retrofit the registers with the R900-v5 MIU or R900 cellular endpoints. The City currently has Neptune 360 interfaced with its customer billing system and would be ready to obtain reads immediately after all collectors are installed, shortening the time of deployment.
Neptune’s meter options consist of two different types: the T-10 is a positive displacement mechanical meter, and the Mach 10 is a solid-state water meter. Both options come with an outstanding warranty and are priced equally.
|
|
Meter Warranty Summary |
|
|
T-10 |
Mach 10 (5/8" to 2") |
|
Manufacturer's defect |
12 months from installation |
12 months from installation |
|
Maincase |
Life of meter |
Life of meter |
|
Electronics |
N/A |
10 full/10 prorated |
|
Meter accuracy |
(5/8” to 1”) 5 years from shipment and up to a certain volume of water based on meter size |
20 years |
Ferguson has 70 years of experience as a distributor for Neptune and 15 years of experience in AMI meter installation projects. There are 23 water utilities in Southern California and over 4,000 utilities throughout the United States and Canada utilizing Neptune AMI technology.
A 10% contingency allocation is requested for this project to cover unexpected and necessary metering system improvements to replace or upgrade 46,500 meters across the City’s service territory. Unlike traditional design/build capital projects, unknowns and variations to project costs are expected due to the scale and age of the system. Due to limitations to the project timeline associated with grant funding and the significant costs associated with conducting a full system survey ahead of the bidding process, a pre-project field inventory was not considered practical. Staff recommends 10% of total contract costs be set aside for project costs associated with meter quantity and type changes for retrofitting and full replacement, meter box and lid upgrades, site preparations for network devices based on final site plans, large meter replacements, inventory and system growth needs, and potential for system water management enhancements such as District Metering Areas and pressure zone monitoring. The table below summarizes the costs associated with the award of Request for Proposal No. 23-019CA Advanced Metering Infrastructure Equipment to Ferguson Enterprises, LLC.
|
Meter Purchase and Network Installation |
Costs |
|
Ferguson Professional Service Agreement |
$15,042,643 |
|
10% Change Order Authority |
$1,504,264 |
|
Electrical Work at various facilities for Gateway Installation |
$98,654 |
|
Project Management Support (City Staff) and UD Billing System Programming |
$150,000 |
|
Total |
$16,795,561 |
In addition to awarding a PSA for the AMI project, a Maintenance/General Services Agreement (MGSA) with Ferguson is needed to ensure continued support for the existing network, meter endpoints, and the meter data management software, Neptune 360. The MGSA integrates a Software-as-a-Service agreement with Neptune Technology Group, Inc., for the use of their software and the ability to escalate system-related issues directly with the software provider should Ferguson not be able to resolve any software-related issues to the City’s satisfaction. This ensures adequate support and continuity after the AMI replacement project is completed for both the physical network equipment and software.
Ferguson has agreed to honor prices through December 2025 to replenish warehouse meter inventory for meter purchases for new development projects that are not part of the scope of the AMI replacement project. Staff requests a purchase order to be issued to Ferguson for the City warehouse for meter inventory replenishment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions relating to the Professional Services Agreement will result in an appropriation in the amount of $7,303,581 from the Water Utility Fund 570 to the Citywide AMI Meter Replacement Capital Improvement Project No. UT-2022-03. There is sufficient working capital in the Water Utility Fund 570 for the recommended actions.
|
Fund |
Project No. |
FY 2024 Current Project Balance |
Requested Appropriation |
New Project Balance |
|
Water Utility 570 |
UT-2022-03 |
$ 9,491,980 |
$ 7,303,581 |
$ 16,795,561 |
Funding for the recommended actions relating to the Maintenance/General Services Agreement is available in the Utilities Department operating budget within the Water Utility Fund 570 and the Information Technology Fund 681 operating budget. Funding for new development meter purchases from warehouse inventory is available in the Development Meters Operating and Maintenance Project No. 72310 within the Water Utility Fund 570, Reclaimed Water Utility Fund 567, and Greenfield Electric Utility Fund 578; and for meter replacements in the Citywide Meter Replacement Operating and Maintenance Project No. 71870 within the Water Utility Fund 570 and Greenfield Electric Utility Fund 578.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is to approve a Professional Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises and there is no possibility that approving this Professional Services Agreement, Maintenance/General Services Agreement, and Software-as-a-Service Agreement will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: JACQUELINE ZUKERAN, UTILITY BILLING AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Professional Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises
2. Exhibit 2 - Ferguson Enterprises Final Cost Summary Workbook (as referenced as part of Exhibit C ‘Compensation’ in the Professional Services Agreement)
3. Exhibit 3 - Maintenance/General Services Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises
4. Exhibit 4 - Software-as-a-Service Agreement with Neptune Technology Group
5. Exhibit 5 - Pricing Sheet for Inventory Meter Purchases
6. Exhibit 6 - Presentation