This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Columbia, Missouri. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

This document constitutes a request for competitive, sealed qualifications for the provision of professional engineering servicesfor automated metering infrastructure (AMI) implementation for the City of Columbia, Utilities Department (hereinafter referred to as City) as set forth herein. Selection of a professional engineering contractor shall be in accordance with Missouri State Statutes. Other qualified contractors that are not specifically engineering firms may be considered. All information requested herein shall be provided by all offerors. Organization - This document, referred to as Request for Qualifications (RFQUAL), is divided into the following parts: 1) Introduction and General Information 2) Scope of Services 3) Qualifications Submission Information 4) Selection Criteria 5) Exhibits A - F 6) Attachment 1 - Cyber Security - Supply Chain Risk Management Questionnaire Terminology/Definitions: Whenever the following words and expressions appear in a RFQUAL document or any addendum thereto, the definition or meaning described below shall apply. o Addendum/Amendment means a written, official modification to an RFQUAL. o Attachment applies to all forms which are included with an RFQUAL to incorporate any informational data or requirements related to the performance requirements and/or specifications. o Qualifications end date and time and similar expressions mean the exact deadline required by the RFQUAL for the receipt of sealed qualifications. o Offeror means the supplier, vendor, person, or organization that responds to an RFQUAL by submitting a qualifications with prices to provide the equipment, supplies, and/or services as required in the RFQUAL document. o Buyer means the procurement staff member of the Purchasing Division. The contact person as referenced herein is usually the buyer. o Contract means a legal and binding agreement between two or more competent parties, for a consideration for the procurement of equipment, supplies, and/or services. o Contractor means a supplier, offeror, person, or organization who is a successful offeror as a result of an RFQUAL and who enters into a contract. o Exhibit applies to forms, which are included with an RFQUAL for the offeror to complete and submit with the sealed qualifications prior to the specified end date and time. o Request for Qualifications (RFQUAL) means the solicitation document issued by the Purchasing Division to potential offerors for the purchase of equipment, supplies, and/or services as described in the document. The definition includes all exhibits, attachments, and addendums thereto. o May means that a certain feature, component, or action is permissible, but not required. o Must means that a certain feature, component, or action is a mandatory condition. o Shall have the same meaning, as the word must. The Utility Department is a municipally owned utility with more than 60,000 electric service customers and more than 60,000 water service customers. The City is seeking a consultant partner to assist with procurement of an automated metering infrastructure (AMI) system for use in increasing the quality and efficiency of customer service offered to its ratepayers. The City has recently completed an Electric Integrated and Master Plan report which recommended the adoption of AMI. The City is seeking the services of an engineering consultant to assist the City with its AMI procurement and implementation. The engineer will act as project manager throughout the AMI preparation, acquisition, and implementation of the AMI system. The engineer shall assist the city with system readiness, specification writing, evaluation of AMI proposals, and quality evaluation of the installed AMI system. The City has the following immediate goals for an AMI system: o ~60,000 Electric and ~60,000 Water Meters o Real-time data collection o Fewer Labor-hours driving collection routes o Operational Efficiencies and timely account turnover o Immediate Outage notifications All questions concerning the solicitation and specifications shall be submitted in writing via e-mail or fax to the name below. You are encouraged to submit your questions via e-mail. Cale Turner, Purchasing Agent Phone: (573) 874-7375 E-mail: cale.turner@como.gov Any oral responses to any question shall be unofficial and not binding on the City of Columbia. An Addendum to this RFQUAL providing the City of Columbia's official response will be issued if necessary to all known prospective offerors. Questions must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 28, 2023. The engineer shall act as project manager throughout the AMI procurement and implementation project. Tasks shall focus on assisting the City in preparation for AMI, creation and evaluation of the Request for Proposal (RFP) to select the AMI vendor or vendors, and continued work with the City to interface with the AMI vendor throughout the installation and integration process. The engineer shall review existing infrastructure and capacities to assess readiness of the City for AMI metering and recommend any internal process updates or preparation to be undertaken by the utility to increase readiness. These areas shall include billing processes, information technology infrastructure including communication networks, and potentially any other area as determined by the engineer. This work shall also include recommendations on areas the City can self-perform implementation and areas to be included in an RFP. The engineer shall conduct multiple workshops on site with City staff to develop the needs and requirements of the successful AMI system (e.g. Information Technology, Billing, Operations). The engineer shall be available for a City Council presentation or public hearing for approval to develop the AMI program. The engineer shall make a recommendation on staffing which is required to implement and maintain the AMI system. Staffing shall include any IT staff, utility staff, and customer service staff necessary to make the AMI system successful. The engineer shall prepare a specification document that will be used to create a RFP for AMI vendors to install, integrate and support an AMI and participate in the proposal evaluation with the City. The engineer shall assist with the evaluation of potential vendors. After the award of the RFP, the engineer shall manage, coordinate and evaluate the work of the vendor in cooperation with the City. The engineer shall ensure work performed by the vendor meets the specification that was agreed upon. The engineer shall recommend any change orders that might be required with the AMI vendor as unanticipated situations arise. The engineer will need to present information on AMI in at least one City Council session and one or more Water and Light Advisory Board sessions. If an extensive communication plan becomes necessary, the consultant will assist City in developing a public outreach program or developing an additional RFP for securing services for a public relations consultant. The engineer shall conduct a knowledge transfer to various City stakeholders. This may be accomplished by creating several Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) written to better ensure maintaining a high quality AMI system.