HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 Meter Installation Agenda Item # 12
Public Utility District
WORKSHOP
To: Board of Directors
From: Ed Taylor
Date: May 20, 2009
Subject: Discussion of a Contract for Meter Installation
1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD
This item provides information regarding the forthcoming award of a contract for the Phase 2
of the meter implementation program.
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.
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 significant interference with the radio signals and changeout
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.
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. Therefore, the communication distances are
typically much shorter and could be as short as a few feet for a double service
installation involving two side by side meter boxes. For such a double service, retrofit of
at most only one meter box lid would be necessary when using the Datamatic radios.
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. However, the
Datamatic radio provides compatibility with a wide range of water meter manufacturers.
This would allow for competitive bids for water meters and the District could purchase
compatible meters from a different manufacturer with the 0.1 gallon resolution. As
currently configured, the Aclara radio only provides full system capabilities when paired
with the Neptune meter and utilizing meters by a different manufacturer would curtail the
system capabilities.
3) The District has about 3,300 existing Badger meters currently installed. The Water
Department has been installing Badger meters from 1995 to the present all of these
meters should have some useful life remaining. As noted above, the Aclara system
provides only limited capabilities with these Badger meters. In addition, Aclara utilizes
different radios for the Badger and Neptune meters. Therefore, the District would have
to maintain a small stock of two different radios for each of the two meter manufacturers.
Datamatic uses the same radio for all meter manufacturers.
4) 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.
5) 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. The Aclara radio is
factory sealed and the battery cannot be replaced. The unit must be discarded upon
battery failure. The battery in the Datamatic radio is field replaceable.
6) 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. However, this will impact battery life
(and battery warranty) of the radio.
7) The Datamatic system has two-way communications with the ability to reprogram radios
and adjust measurement parameters from the central control computer. The Aclara
system is currently a one-way system. Reprogramming of radios must be performed in
the field using a hand-held device. Aclara will begin selling a new radio in next few
months that has limited two-way communication abilities. While this is not a common
occurrence, the ability to reprogram radios remotely is potential advantageous.
8) Datamatic radios can be read in the field using a held-held device. Aclara radios cannot.
9) The performance of MCS as the installation contractor has not met the District's
expectations. Vulcan Construction has undertaken two pipeline construction projects for
the District in which Vulcan was determined to be the low-bidder through the normal
public bidding process. While Vulcan has not performed meter installation work for the
District, the company has a significant track record of performing such work for other
agencies. Given Vulcan's past performance on the two prior District projects, the Water
Department has a comfort level that Vulcan will perform the work in a satisfactory
manner.
10)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.
11)The Datamatic system requires fewer central collectors (16 vs. 28) with an associated
lower cost for data backhaul.
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 to work with MCS in an effort to bring this pilot program to a satisfactory level and
hope that similar problems will not occur in 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.
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 and represent the best information
available at this time.
Project Component MCS/Aclara/Neptune Vulcan/Datamatic/AMCO
Meter-Mounted Radios $741,000 $736,000
Retrofit of Existing Badger Meters $245,000 $290,000
Retrofit of Existing Sensus Meters $76,000 $59,000
New Meters $309,000 $239,000
Meter Box Lid Replacement & Retrofit $532,000 $391,000
AMR System Infrastructure $114,000 $131,000
Labor& Project Management $220,000 $661,000
Total $2,237,000 $2,507,000
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 61h items are also subject to sales tax.
In reviewing this cost information there are a few items worth noting:
1) Overall, the cost of the meters radios and other equipment is less in the
Datamatic/AMCO system. As an example, the combined price for a new single family
residential meter with a radio is about $200 for the Aclara/Neptune system and about
$170 under the Datamatic/AMCO system. This is a future savings to the District when
new customers are connected to the system.
2) The cost of meter box lid retrofits & modifications is less under the Datamatic/AMCO
system. As discussed earlier, the Aclara radio is much more sensitive to this issue than
Datamatic radio. In addition, the antenna design is different for the two radios, so the
nature of the box lid modifications is different. Staff will be discussing this issue further
with Vulcan and it is likely that this cost can be reduced to some degree.
3) The cost of labor is significantly lower under the MCS proposal. The District has
expressed its concern to MCS regarding the proposed level of effort involved in the
project. The District has also asked MCS to verify that the appropriate prevailing wages
are being used those employees subject to prevailing wages.
4) The two-way Aclara radio discussed above will likely would not be available to the
District in time for installation this Summer. Preliminary discussions with Aclara have
indicated a price increase of about 15% to 25% for this upgraded radio.
Staff will be refining this cost estimate up until the Board Meeting expects to have revised costs
at that time. Staff also expects to have costs for the compatible electric meters at the Board
meeting.
5. RECOMMENDATION:
Receive this report and provide comment.
Ed Taylor Michael D. Holley
Water Utility Manager General Manager