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CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL, REJECTION, AMENDMENT, AND/OR POSTPONEMENT OF CONTRACT K-2021-75, A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE NORMAN UTILITIES AUTHORITY AND E SOURCE COMPANIES, L.L.C., IN THE AMOUNT OF $104,156 TO PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES FOR A WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI) TO ENSURE A SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF THE AUTOMATIC WATER METER READS INTO THE BILLING SYSTEM.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Norman/Norman Utilities Authority water system includes approximately 41,000 water meters that measure water usage for water and sewer billing purposes. The majority of the meters (approximately 39,000) are manually read monthly by meter readers (physically remove the meter lid and read the current usage on the register) and 2,000 meters are read using automated meter reading (AMR) (remote sensor used to collect data while driving by in a truck or walking by without removing the meter lid). As the number of meters increases, staffing levels would have to proportionally increase to ensure that meters are read timely and accurately. Insufficient staffing levels can result in missed or inaccurate reads that impact customer service and billing revenues. Additionally, the majority of the water meters in Norman have aged past their expected useful life and warrant replacement.
The current state of water meter technology is such that advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has become more common place and is being implemented by more municipal utilities. With AMI, meters would be read remotely using cellular infrastructure on water towers (or additional towers if necessary) multiple times per day.
With this new system, the following benefits will be realized:
1. Meter reads would occur regularly ensuring more accurate billing;
2. Improved customer service since usage data will be more available to the customer and leak or usage alerts could be configured to notify the customer in a timely manner;
3. Age...
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