CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Cooperative Procurement 23-231, Electric Meters and Gatekeepers, to Wesco Distribution for an amount not to exceed $411,068.00
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DEPARTMENT: Electric Utility
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Groth, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The City of Naperville- Electric Utility (Utility) has deployed smart meters to all customers since 2011. The meters are installed in residential and commercial locations to record electric consumption for the Utility billing process as well as provide near real time data to the Utility for its conservation voltage reduction (CVR) system which actively reduces energy use for all its customers by optimizing the Utility’s system voltage at the substation level. There are approximately 63,000 electric meters throughout the Utility’s system.
Gatekeepers are field devices that remotely collect 15-minute consumption and real-time voltage data from installed meters and transmit this information back to the Utility’s datacenter for processing. During initial smart grid roll out the Utility had approximately 125 gatekeepers installed throughout the system, each year Utility staff performs an AMI communication survey and optimizes the system, these annual surveys have allowed the Utility to reduce the number of gatekeepers to 91.
To support residential and commercial development in the city, the Utility must have meters in its warehouse to provide new service to customers. Due to supply chain issues, lead times have increased to 52 weeks to acquire electric meters and gatekeepers.
DISCUSSION:
Delays in obtaining meters can result in new service installation delays to commercial and residential customers. Additionally replacing failed meters is a priority for the Utility as this information is required for the CVR system, Empower customer usage portal as well as the Utility billing process. The Utility requires meters in its warehouse to support both Utility operations.
While still functional, the existing gatekeeper system has become end of life and the Utility has planned a several year project, as part of its CIP, to replace these 91 devices. While upgrading gatekeepers, the Utility will be removing its Tropos Wi-Fi backhaul network; moving to secure cellular service for data transmission. This migration reduces equipment in the field and thus reduces Utility cost to maintain its AMI system.
Staff has identified an approved cooperative contract, Sourcewell Cooperative Contract 091422WES through Wesco Distribution, for the procurement of the meters and gatekeepers. The meters and gatekeepers will be delivered 52 weeks from date of order; by October 1, 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#:EU080
Meter purchases are associated with the work being done under EU080, Utility Infrastructure Hardware and Metering. This work is budgeted in the below infrastructure account, in 2024 the Electric Utility proposed a budget of $655,000 for EU080. While the 2024 budget has not yet been approved, staff will ensure there is a proper amount in the budget to accommodate these expenses in 2024.
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Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
40251300-551502 |
Electric Utility |
TBD |