HomeMy WebLinkAbout6 Meter Implementaion Plan Agenda Item # 6
IF
Public District
ACTION
To: Board of Directors
From: Ed Taylor
Date: May 29, 2009
Subject: Award of a Contract for Phase 2 of the Meter Implementation Plan
1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD
Board authorization is required for expenditures in excess of$15,000.
2. HISTORY
AB 2572 requires that the District begin reading the water meters installed since 1992
and commence billing on a volumetric basis by January 1, 2010. AB 2572 also requires
that all connections be equipped with water meters and billed on a volumetric basis by
January 1, 2025.
In the late Summer of 2008, the District issued a request for proposals for the provision
of an automated meter reading (AMR) system and the installation of water meters. In
response to that RFP, the District received five proposals, three for drive-by systems
and two for fixed-base systems.
The District determined that implementation of a fixed based system would best serve
its needs and the review was focused on those two proposals:
• A proposal from Measurement Control Systems (MCS) for a system utilizing
meters manufactured by Neptune and radios manufactured by Aclara.
• A proposal from Vulcan Construction for a system utilizing meters manufactured
by American Meter Company (AMCO) and radios manufactured by Datamatic.
In the Fall of 2008, the District awarded a contract to MCS for the provision of an AMR
system and the installation of water meters for the metering pilot program. The purpose
of the pilot program is to:
1) Verify that the selected system will function in Truckee given the local climate
and construction practices.
1
2) Gather data on residential water consumption to be used in developing volume-
based water rates.
There were three main factors that led to the decision to select MCS:
1) The battery warranty for the Aclara radios is 10 years with full replacement with
the second ten years prorated at 10% per year. The battery warranty for the
Datamatic radio was 10 years with full replacement only.
2) The Neptune meters have a resolution of 0.1 gallons. The meters in the
Datamatic proposal have a resolution of 10 gallons. The resolution is the smallest
increment of usage that a meter can measure. The smaller resolution of the
Neptune meter allows for the detection of smaller leaks.
3) There was a significant difference in the initial costs given by the two proposals
with the MCS proposal being less expensive. Over the course of discussions
with both MCS and Vulcan, there were a number of clarifications made by both
companies regarding their proposals. Once the final costs were determined,
MCS remained less expensive.
Award of the contract, MCS proceeded with procurement and eventual field installation of
the AMR system components. A total of 412 radios were installed by MCS in this pilot
program.
Prior to issuing the RFP for the automated meter reading system, the Water Department
was conducting a pilot utilizing ten water meters manufactured by Badger and radios
manufactured by Datamatic. At the recommendation of former Board President Tim
Taylor, this pilot was continued and expanded to include an additional 20 meters.
3. NEW INFORMATION
Based upon the pilot programs, the Water Department has reached the following
conclusions regarding the AMR systems. The Water Department continues to gather
usage data for use in the Water Rate Study on a daily basis.
1) Metal meter box lids cause interference with the radio signals and change out of
lids from metal to plastic is necessary to optimize performance of the Aclara AMR
system. The Datamatic radios are not as sensitive to this issue due to differences
in the radio system architecture, but will require 65% of the lids to be changed
out.
In the Aclara system, each individual meter radio must communicate with a
centrally located receiver independently. In some cases this distance may be
more than one mile. The Datamatic system has a network (or daisy chain) type
architecture where radios relay data from nearby radios.
2
2) As stated above, the Neptune meters have a resolution of 0.1 gallons and the
AMCO meters in the Datamatic proposal have a resolution of 10 gallons. The
Datamatic radio provides compatibility with two meter manufacturers that provide
meters that have a 0.1 gallon resolution, Neptune and Sensus. To provide the
same performance the Datamatic must use either a Neptune or Sensus meter
not the AMCO meter.
3) The base software package from Aclara has a better user interface and better
reporting functions. Both systems utilize an open database structure and custom
reports can be created with relative ease for both systems.
4) As stated above, the battery warranty for the Aclara radio is 10 years with full
replacement with the second ten years prorated at 10% per year. Datamatic has
since stated that they will offer a comparable warranty for their radios.
5) In default mode, the Aclara radio will transmit four meter reads per day (about
once every six hours). In default mode, the Datamatic radio will transmit reads
hourly. Aclara radios can be configured to transmit hourly reads
6) The performance of MCS as the installation contractor less that the District's
expectations. Phase 1 was a small project and MCS did not allocate sufficient
resources to the project. Staff has reviewed with MCS the project schedule and
resource allocation for Phase 2.
7) Compatible electric meters with standard reading capabilities exist for both
systems. However, the District has been unable to obtain test units with a remote
shut-off capability for either system.
As stated above, the existing contract with MCS covers only the pilot program. MCS has
not met the schedule or performance criteria given in the contract. Therefore, the District is
left with three options:
1) Continue with MCS-Neptune/Aclara for Phase 2.
2) Reject the Neptune/Aclara system and enter into a contract with Vulcan for provision
of the Datamatic system.
3) Issue a new RFP and start the process over.
In selecting either Option 1 of Option 2, installation of the Phase 2 meters and radios would
likely begin in July and the District should be able to meet the January 1, 2010 deadline for
volume based billing set forth in AB 2572. In selecting Option 3, installation of meters and
radios would likely not begin until September and meeting the January 1, 2010 deadline
would be extremely difficult.
3
4. FISCAL IMPACT
Based upon the conclusions of the pilot program both vendors were able to refine their
cost proposals for Phase 2. These costs are summarized below.
Project Component MCS/Aclara/Neptune Vulcan/Datamatic/AMCO
Meter-Mounted Radios $752,000 $759,000
Retrofit of Existing Badger Meters $18,000 $18,000
Retrofit of Existing Sensus Meters $9,000 $4,000
New Meters $671,000 $518,000
Meter Box Lid Replacement & $274,000 $85,000
Retrofit
AMR System Infrastructure $114,000 $105,000
Labor& Project Management $269,000 $785,000
Total $2,107,000 $2,274,000
The above costs do not include sales tax. The first four items in the table are subject to
sales tax and portions of the 5th and 6th items are also subject to sales tax.
This is a two year project. The water meter fund will cover the cost of this project as it is
constructed.
5. RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the Board President to sign a contract with MCS for Phase 2 of the installation
of a meter system for $2,107,000 plus tax and a 10% change order authorization for a
total amount not to exceed of$2,440,000.
Ed Taylor Michael D. Holley
Water Utility Manager General Manager