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Home My WebLink About13-1 Consideration to Approve a Purchase Order with NISC for Software Implementation Services AGENDA ITEM____13____ Page 1 of 3 MEETING DATE: June 2, 2021 TO: Board of Directors FROM: Pano Valcanas, Database Analyst and Administrator SUBJECT: Consideration to Approve a Purchase Order with NISC for Software Implementation Services APPROVED BY __________________________________ Michael Salmon, Chief Financial Officer RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Interim General Manager to execute a purchase order with the National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) for software implementation services in the amount of $21,000 plus a 10% charge order authorization for a total not to exceed contract amount of $23,100 plus any applicable taxes, and an annual maintenance fee of $8,808. BACKGROUND: The District has used National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) software to support the billing and accounting systems since 2002. As the base software which manages billing, the District has standardized its business practices to use NISC software. In 2018, the District implemented NISC’s Meter Data Management System (MDMS) software platform. MDMS is used to import electric meter interval readings which in turn supports customer billing and customer access to SmartHub. SmartHub is a web-based and mobile application developed by NISC that allows District customers to view energy usage and manage payments. The District sees a growing demand for actionable information to manage grid operation and reliability. On November 15, 2017, the Board approved a project to fully deploy the Tantalus Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system throughout the District. The subsequent Electric Meter Replacement Project completed all AMI meter installations by the close of 2019. With AMI in place, the District can now leverage additional NISC software modules to enhance the MDMS system and improve grid operations. On May 3, 2021, staff received a quote (Attachments 1 and 2) from NISC for implementation of software services for the Operational Analytics (OA) module. The Page 2 of 3 OA module is an enhancement to the existing MDMS product in use by the District. MDMS combined with OA will allow the District to improve our operational efficiencies and grid reliability through advanced data analysis. The implementation fee includes new MDMS data integrations for more frequent AMI meter interval usage, GIS mapped electric infrastructure, and electric SCADA readings. With these integrations in place to support OA, the District will be able to proactively locate and replace critically overloaded or under loaded transformers, reduce feeder losses, conduct blink analysis to improve grid reliability, and improve our outage response. Staff anticipates the following milestones and schedule for this project: Milestone Estimated Completion 1. Authorize purchase order with NISC June 2, 2021 2. Setup and configuration of the OA module June, 2021 3. NISC review of District circuit model July, 2021 4. OA integration with District SCADA July, 2021 5. OA integration with District GIS August, 2021 6. Update MDMS integration September, 2021 7. Implement tools for OA support October, 2021 8. Training for administration and development November, 2021 The District utilizes NISC software as the base enterprise planning resource software which manages the District’s accounting, payroll (ABS), and customer information systems (CIS). The District has standardized on this software for the past 18 years due to in-house expertise with the product, the advanced leadership of NISC with other public power utilities, and their compatibility with other District products including ESRI, Microsoft, and SCADA systems. Therefore, the District has designated NISC as a Sole Source Provider. Section 3.08.010.7 of District Code allows vendors to be designated as Sole Source if “certain vendors provide goods and equipment that are proprietary in nature such as certain utilities. For purchases that exceed $15,000, approval will be obtained by the Board.” The implementation of OA directly supports the District mission to provide reliable, high quality utility and customer service. The OA module will assist staff through improved management of District resources at the lowest practical cost using automated data feeds between GIS, SCADA, and AMI. This item is in support of the following objectives and goals identified by the District. 1.05.020 Objectives 1. Responsibly serve the public. 6. Manage the District in an effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible manner. Page 3 of 3 1.05.030 Goals 1.1 Conduct the District’s business in a legal, ethical, open, and transparent manner. 6.1 Utilize modern, cost effective work methods and equipment. FISCAL IMPACT: The cost to implement the NISC OA module is $19,000 plus any applicable taxes, with a $634 monthly recurring fee based on District meter counts. The cost to implement integration with our electric infrastructure through the District GIS is $2,000 plus any applicable taxes, and a $100 monthly recurring fee. Total project cost is $21,000 plus any applicable taxes, with a yearly maintenance fee of $8,808 based on current District meter counts. The Information Technology Department (Cost Center 9) is currently 76% of year to date ($731,990 dispersed from $957,316 budgeted), and 32% of actual FY21 budget ($731,990 dispersed from $2,297,558 budgeted). Broken down further, for software maintenance and support (GL 483), the District is at 62% of actual FY21 budget ($369,681 dispersed from $596,782 budgeted). This item will not impact the overall Cost Center 9 FY21 budget with an estimate of being under budget at year’s end. ATTACHMENTS: 1 – NISC Operational Analytics (OA) Module Quote 2 – NISC Open API Quote for GIS Integration