HomeMy WebLinkAbout11 Attchment 1. Contract w NCPA Re a Data Base System Agenda Item # 7
Pubkc Utility District
CONSENT
To: Board of Directors
From: Steven Poncelet
Date: March 07, 2012
Subject: Consideration of a Contract with Northern California Power Agency
(NCPA) Regarding a Data Base System
1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD
This item is before the Board as the total contract amount is greater than $15,000 and
requires Board approval.
2. HISTORY
The District has made an investment in growing energy and water conservation
programs and finding innovative ways to help our customers save energy/water and
save money. The District now has a robust stable of programs and is processing over
1000 rebates per year and serving thousands of customers with programs such as:
Million CFL; Residential Green Partners; Business Green Partners; Energy Saving
Program (ESP); Residential Energy Survey (RES); Neighborhood Block Parties; LED
Holiday Light Exchange; appliance rebates; building performance rebates; and other
programs. These diverse programs provide for excellent energy savings and cost-
effectiveness, but have also greatly complicated the management systems needed to
effectively administer our programs.
As the Conservation Department has expanded, the procedures and tools used to
manage the programs and enable regulatory reporting have also improved. In a short
few years, the Department has gone from largely paper-based tracking systems to
Excel-based systems to relational-database tools. For the customer, however, the
rebate and other forms remain paper-based.
To effectively handle our complex programs, staff has been investigating new
technology-based tools to help our customers access the programs and to facilitate
rebate processing, program result tracking, and regulatory reporting. Potential
benefits to the District include labor savings, reduced EM&V costs, and improved
program management and customer service.
3. NEW INFORMATION
There are limited resources available to build and utilize a database management
system that will support the level of complexity needed to track energy and water
efficiency programs and meet the ever-expanding need for regulatory reporting. To
address this challenge, members of the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA)
Public Benefits Committee identified the value of developing a joint, web-based
platform that would allow NCPA members to better manage the many facets of their
respective energy and water efficiency programs. Specific objectives included:
improving customer access to programs via on-line rebate application portals and
paperless processing; allowing members to administer their programs more effectively
by allowing them to efficiently track program information; and meeting local and
regulatory reporting requirements.
On July 25, 2011, NCPA released a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify a
vendor that could provide these services. Eight organizations responded to the RFP.
Upon further review of these proposals, including individual interviews with each of the
potential vendors, the Public Benefits Committee recommended the selection of
crmOrbit, Inc. as the company best qualified to perform the desired services. NCPA
then negotiated with crmOrbit, on behalf of the seven interested member utilities to
develop a final scope of work, pricing, and member utility cost-allocation. The
proposed 5-year contract includes development of centralized database with some
customization for each participating utility, training for utility personnel to use and
update the database, and a 5-year license agreement which begins on July, 2012.
The total cost associated with this project is $438,871.63. All costs will be borne by
the seven NCPA members participating in the project. The allocation factors
associated with these costs were based on an average of the most recently available
information regarding energy delivered in kilowatt hours, number of energy efficiency
rebates provided to customers, and energy efficiency budgets. The District allocated
share of the total cost is $89,413.33 over the 5-year project.
This effort will result in a final contact between NCPA and crmOrbit, and a Member
Services Agreement between NCPA and the seven participating members. The
District and NCPA are working on the final wording of the Member Services
Agreement. These documents were brought to the NCPA Commission Meeting on
February 23rd where the contract between NCPA and crmOrbit was approved
contingent on the approval of the NCPA Members Services Agreement with each
participating utility. The NCPA Commission Staff Report, Consulting Services
Agreement between NCPA and crmOrbit, Inc., and the Members Services Agreement
between NCPA and the District are included as Attachments 1, 2 and 3.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
The District's contract with NCPA is for an amount not to exceed $89,413.33 over for a
contract term ending June 30, 2017. Funds for this expense will come from the
approved FY12 and FY13 budget, and the future Conservation Department budgets.
5. RECOMMENDATION
Award a contract in substantially the form presented and agreed to by District counsel
for a data base systems to NCPA for an amount not to exceed $89,413.33 with a term
ending June 30, 2017.
Steven Poncelet Michael D. Holley
Public Information & Conservation Manager General Manager