AMI System Bid (Materials Only)
The Town of Athens in Mercer County, West Virginia will accept an equipment/materials bid on a cellular based Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) System. Bids will be accepted at the office of the Engineer, Ghosh Engineers, Inc. located at 1 Dunbar Plaza, Suite 200, Dunbar, WV 25064 by no later than Friday, March 8th, 2024 at 4:00 pm local time. Bids may also be submitted by email to [email protected] by the same time and date. Installation of these materials shall be by the Town of Athens.
The AMI system, at a minimum, shall meet or exceed the following:
Backhaul:
System shall utilize existing LTE cellular network to backhaul data directly from the meter to cloud based storage. No additional infrastructure shall be required. The manufacturer must be able to provide RSSI (signal strength) value for specific meter locations prior to installation with nothing more than GIS coordinates or an address. No Data collectors shall be required. All data must be channeled through a VPN (virtual private network) within the cellular network for data security. 10 years of daily wireless connectivity must be included in the up-front cost of the meter.
Electronic Registers:
The new meters shall include 8-digit electronic register that includes an embedded cell modem for communications. The electronic registers shall store the most recent 64,000 points of data usage in 1-minute intervals, continuously without effect on the battery life, with resolution down to one magnetic turn of the measuring element of the meter. Registers shall include on-board data storage for interval consumption data at a minimum of 45 days that can be accessed via a field tablet for additional customer service. Registers shall communicate with cellular network daily to upload reading data, usage data, and to synchronize their internal clocks. All meter readings must be synchronized to within 1 second of the atomic clock and be time stamped at midnight for all daily meter status and meter reading transmission. During daily communications, the register shall also perform any required two-way functions such as backfilling no fewer than 9 days of missing interval data, accepting reconfiguration commands and allowing for periodic firmware updates. Registers must have no moving parts and induce zero drag on the meter measuring element.
Cloud Based Storage:
Reading and Interval Data shall be stored in a cloud-based database administered by the manufacturer. Software shall be located at Utility billing office to synchronize private customer data such as name, address etc. with cloud storage of reading and interval data. The Manufacturer shall create the software upload conversion file (interface) which shall be compatible with the utility’s existing billing software at no additional cost. Cloud storage shall store usage data for no less than ten (10) years in a 1-minute interval data.
Data Accessibility:
The Utility shall have complete access to all usage data for each end customer of the utility for purposes of billing dispute resolution including the following flag items: leak detection, excessive usage detection, back-flow detection, monitoring and enforcing irrigation restrictions by address and time/day of the week, zero use, high use, Intermittent leak, unexpected use, unauthorized use, low temperature (freeze) warning. The Manufacturer shall provide web-based, user-friendly software for use by utility personnel at no additional up-front or annual cost. The Manufacturer shall provide the utility with the ability to grant customers web-based access to view their own usage data (CONSUMER PORTAL) at no additional charge to utility or consumer. The system shall have the ability to provide end users with a mobile app that allows for unique monthly budgeting of water use and email alerting for leaks, high-flow, and notification throughout the month of water use budget status. The Manufacture shall develop and offer to utility a suite of reporting tools for mining the cloud usage database to reduce system losses, reduce unaccounted for water, enforce usage restrictions etc. For security purposes, the utility shall retain sole possession of all private customer data such as name and address. This private data shall remain on site at the utility and access by the manufacturer shall not be required.
Water Meters:
The cold-water meter shall be of rotary piston design and must exceed American Water Works Association (AWWA) Standard C-700 and C-710 as most recently revised with respect to low-flow accuracy, as follows: 5/8” x ¾” meters low flow registration of 1/50 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) with an accuracy range of 1/30 GPM to 25 GPM. Meters shall be guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of no less than ten (10) years from the date of installation. The guarantee must be manufacturer’s standard published guarantee. The main case shall be made of high-strength nylon composite material with NSF 61G lead-free certifications and shall withstand a working pressure of 230 psi. The direction of flow must be permanently indicated on the case. Meters shall operate accurately with no straight run of pipe before or after the meter. Meters shall be factory tested for accuracy. A factory test tag certifying the accuracy shall be provided for each meter. The factory test tag must include the meter serial number. The cold-water meter shall be a Metron-Farnier Altair Rotary Piston meter with an innov8 VN-LTE cellular AMI register as described above, or Engineer’s pre-approved equal. For prior approval from the Engineer, vendors must submit a written statement requesting consideration and all documentation necessary as described in this advertisement. This request must be submitted in writing at least 14 days prior to the scheduled bid opening.
Delivery of Product:
All products must be delivered to Utility location within 45 days of purchase order and/or Notice-to-Proceed.
This bid shall include 300 water meters and the plastic lids necessary to implement the AMI system once installation of all the materials is complete. All shipping (all materials delivered to the Town of Athens, WV), set-up, training, and subscription services (if applicable) shall be included in the bid and identified. Bids shall be submitted on the suppliers standard pricing form showing the breakdown of materials and services detailed above.
Any questions regarding this bid should be directed to the Engineer, Kennon T. Chambers, PE with Ghosh Engineers at 304-343-5300 or [email protected].
The Town of Athens reserves the right to reject all bids.
ID: 771638