CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of RFP 25-252, Electric Utility Engineer, to SynchroGrid, Inc., for an amount not to exceed $960,000 and for a two-year term
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DEPARTMENT: Electric Utility
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Groth, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The Electric Utility (“Utility”) has infrastructure projects included in its capital improvement plan such as substation power transformer replacements, 138kV circuit breaker replacements, and relay upgrades. Many of these projects are very large, once in a generation, or require skill sets that the Utility staff does not have.
By partnering with an engineering firm on a long-term strategic contract, the Utility gains access to a diverse and experienced talent pool capable of completing these projects. In addition, the long-term nature of the contract allows the engineering firm to learn the Utility’s system and establish a strategic partnership to accomplish the Utility’s goals.
In November 2025, the Electric Utility issued RFP 25-252, Electric Utility Engineer, to contract with an experienced and qualified firm to offer supplemental engineering services as needed on capital improvement and other projects.
DISCUSSION:
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Advertisement Date: |
11/13/2025 |
Notices Sent: |
601 |
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Opening Date: |
12/19/2026 |
Planholders: |
51 |
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Proposals Received: |
10 |
Proposals were received from the following vendors:
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A Star Electric |
Kimley Horn and Associates Inc |
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Albrecht Engineering |
Primera Engineers |
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DST Engineers LLC |
Power Systems Engineering Inc |
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Electric Power Systems International |
SGC Engineering |
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Strand Associates Ince |
SynchroGrid |
A selection team comprised of staff from the Electric Utility and the Transportation, Engineering and Development Business Group evaluated the proposals, which were scored based upon the criteria set forth in the RFP:
1. Capability, Capacity and Qualifications of the Firm (30%)
2. Suitability and Quality of the Approach/Methodology (50%)
3. Milestones and Deliverables (20%)
After reviewing and scoring the responses, the selection committee invited the top 4 vendors, Strand Associates Inc, SynchroGrid, A Star Electric (SEL) and Albrecht Engineering to attend interviews. Following the completion of the interviews, the selection committee rescored the vendors. The vendor with the highest qualification score, SynchroGrid, is recommended for award. The table below provides a summary of the final qualification scores
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Vendor |
Qualification Score |
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SynchroGrid |
83.5 |
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A Star Electric (Sel) |
79.6 |
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Albrecht Engineering |
73.8 |
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Strand Associates Inc |
68.7 |
Cost of service is based on negotiated hourly rates, as set forth within the agreement, and will be billed accordingly as the Utility utilizes the contracted engineering services.
The term of the contract is from 4/16/2026 through 4/15/2028 with two, two-year options to extend.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#: Various
Transmission & Distribution Engineering Services will be expensed to the Infrastructure account listed below. The cost of engineering services for capital upgrades are included within individual project budgets. The 2026 budget includes $24,451,500 for Electric Utility infrastructure upgrades. The award requested is within the amount budgeted for this expense in 2026. Staff will ensure sufficient funding is included in the 2027 budget to support the second year of this award.
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Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
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40251300-551502 |
Electric Utility Fund |
$25,151,500 |