Automatic Metering Infrastructure (AMI

Notice is hereby given that the City of Ames will accept sealed proposals until 2:00 PM Local Time on June 11, 2024, in AmesBids at amesbids.ionwave.net or delivered to City of Ames, Purchasing Attn: Procurement Specialist, 515 Clark Ave, Ames, IA 50010.
The City of Ames (City) is soliciting proposals from qualified Vendors for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) System to be utilized by the Electric Services Department, Water and Pollution Control Department, and Utility Customer Services Division.
The City of Ames intends to identify and, pending successful contract execution with the selected Vendor, procure an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system, a Meter Exchange Service for Electric Meters and Water Modules, a Meter Data Management System (MDMS), an Optional Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS), and an Optional Customer Portal. All of which provides the best value for the City of Ames. The AMI system must support electric and water, have the potential to support additional programs such as Distribution Automation, DERs, EVs, Load Management, SCADA, and other applications.   The preferred method is to submit proposals in AmesBids at amesbids.ionwave.net in the format required, included with these proposal documents with all prices and requested data properly filled in, prior to the time and date proposals are due. If technical issues occur while submitting the proposal, contact the Procurement Specialist for the proposal and determine an alternate method to receive the proposal. Failure to submit the required information may deem the proposal non-responsive. The proposal shall include acknowledgement of receipt of all addenda. Addenda numbers shall be filled in the proposal response.
There are confidential attachments and exhibits being provided. Due to the nature of the information, the documents are not included in this bid package. Before these are issued to any interested vendor, a confidentiality agreement must be fully executed. The confidentiality agreement is not part of the RFP submittal but is required to receive the confidential information and data. In order to receive the confidential documents listed in the RFP, a confidentiality agreement must be completed and returned to Amanda Moore, Procurement Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Once the agreement has been reviewed and fully executed, approved Vendors will be given access to the confidential documents.
PROPOSALS will be accepted by the City of Ames until 2:00 PM Local Time on June 11, 2024, in AmesBids at amesbids.ionwave.net or delivered to City of Ames, Purchasing Attn: Procurement Specialist, 515 Clark Ave, Ames, IA 50010, City of Ames Contract No. 2024-137. Must be a registered Vendor to submit a proposal in AmesBids. Proposals shall be uploaded under the Response Attachments tab in AmesBids. Once proposals have been thoroughly evaluated, the winning proposal will be presented to the approving authority for action thereon.
Questions and requests for clarification of requirements for these services are encouraged. All questions and requests for clarification are to be submitted via AmesBids no later than 5:00 PM Local Time on May 7, 2024.
The schedule represents the City's best estimate of the schedule that will be followed. If a component of this schedule is delayed, the rest of the schedule will be shifted accordingly.
The approximate contract schedule is as follows: Issue Request for Proposal and Confidentiality Agreement: April 5, 2024 Confidential Documents Provided: Upon Completion of Confidentiality Agreement Final Date to Submit Written Questions: May 7, 2024, at 5:00 PM Responses to Questions Posted: May 14, 2024, or Sooner Proposals Due: June 11, 2024, at 2:00 PM Vendor Presentations: June, 2024 or Sooner Contract Negotiations and Final Award: August, 2024 Project Kick Off: September, 2024
Proposals received after 2:00 PM Local Time, June 11, 2024, will not be considered. It will be the sole responsibility of the Vendor to have their responses submitted in AmesBids before the closing hour and date.
The following schedule is the anticipated high level expected completion dates. Further project tasks and completion dates are provided in Section 13.5 of the deployment plan. Project Kick-off: September, 2024 MDMS Installation: February, 2025 Complete Phase I (System Integration and ISAT): March, 2025 Optional Customer Portal Installation: April, 2025 Complete AMI Phase II (Full Meter Exchange and FSAT): December 31, 2026 Final System Acceptance Testing (FSAT): January, 2027, FSAT shall be completed within thirty (30) days of the completion of Phase II Optional DERMS Installation: January, 2027
Contact with personnel of the City other than Amanda Moore, Procurement Specialist, Ken Tiarks, Technical Services Supervisor, or Power System Engineering (contact@example.gov) regarding this Request for Proposal may be grounds for elimination from the selection process.
The City of Ames Purchasing Division is the only authorized source of proposal documents. Proposal documents obtained from any other source may be incomplete.
It is expressly understood that any costs associated with preparing a proposal shall be at the expense of the Vendor.
The release of information by the City to the public is subject to Iowa Code Chapter 22 and other applicable provisions of the law relating to the release of records in the possession of the City. Vendors are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these provisions prior to submitting a proposal. All information submitted by a Vendor may be treated as public information by the City unless the Vendor properly requests that information be treated as confidential and cites to applicable confidentiality provisions of Chapter 22 at the time of submitting the proposal. In the event the Vendor marks each page of the proposal as proprietary or confidential without adhering to the requirements of the Section, the City may reject the proposal as noncompliant.
The City of Ames does hereby reserve the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities, and to make such awards as it shall deem to be in the best interest of the City.