Title
Approving the procurement of meter registers and components as well as construction services for the Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project to Core and Main using their HGACBuy contract in the amount of $1,563,691.73, and authorizing the City Manager to execute the same.
Summary
As part of the City’s 5-year CIP, our water meter infrastructure was identified to be upgraded to an Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network from our existing Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system. The objective of the project is to improve the accuracy of our current meters, add infrastructure to bring water use data into a single system, and to provide City of Pflugerville water customers with a portal to be able to see their water usage in real-time.
The current AMR network requires staff to drive around to gather meter readings in specified zones on specific days of the month. This also requires staff to individually go to specific streets depending on the signal capability of the older registers and meter boxes. This existing network also requires Meter Shop staff to respond to Utility Billing and customer requests for verifying readings as needed. This network also doesn’t give customers a lot of control over their usage and being able to see how much water they use on a given day to try and tailor their usage. The migration to AMI will minimize staff time to collect meter reading while also giving both staff and customers a way to view water usage in near real-time to aid in our conservation efforts and to give customers better control of their water usage to set alerts as needed to be notified if there is a leak before it is a large problem.
As part of the first phase of the AMI project, the contractor finalized installation of the entire Neptune collector network that was needed to support the full integration of AMI meters throughout the City's current water service area. This collector network is currently in place and bringing some of the data back for AMI registers that were installed as part of the first phase of the AMI project integration. In order to receive the remainder of the meter data back to the server and portal, we need to replace a large number of older cast iron meter box lids with the standard plastic meter box lid. The reason for this change is due to the signal not traveling outside of a cast iron lid as it is acting like a faraday cage for the radio signal to reach the various collectors around the City. Also, as part of this second phase of the project, we need to finalize the replacement of the remainder of the AMR meter registers that are still around the City. This totals roughly 3,000 meter registers that are left to be replaced on the second phase to bring the entire water meter system to full AMI integration.
While the work on this project is slated to be completed this calendar year, there have been various problems with getting meter box lids manufactured and delivered, so we are watching supply chains on this critical component for the project closely to prevent any disruptions in the project as a whole. This project is currently listed under the Water CIP as Conversion of Water Meters to AMI.
Prior City Council Action
At the January 12, 2021 regular City Council meeting, City Council approved a cost-share agreement with LCRA in the amount of $100,000 to be used for the AMI project.
At the May 25, 2021 regular City Council meeting, City Council approved the purchase and installation of Phase One of the AMI Project to Core and Main to install AMI Collector infrastructure and AMI meter infrastructure.
At the June 8, 2021 regular City Council meeting, City Council approved the agreement with HydroPro Solutions to procure the AMI portal for customers to have a web portal to view near real-time water usage data as part of the AMI project.
Deadline for City Council Action
February 22, 2022
Funding Expected: Revenue __ Expenditure _X_ N/A __
Budgeted Item: Yes _X_ No __ N/A __
*This portion of the Capital Improvement Project is listed under the 5-year CIP as Conversion of Water Meters to AMI.
Amount: __$1,547,479.23______
1295 Form Required? Yes _X_ No __
Legal Review Required: N/A __ Required _X_ Date Completed: __2/16/2022______
Supporting documents attached:
Short Form Contract - Executed, HGAC Contract - Core and Main, FY2022 Bid - Core and Main
Recommended Action
City staff requests authorizing the City Manager to approve the procurement of construction services for the Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project to Core and Main using their HGACBuy contract in the amount of $1,563,691.73.