DEP Environmental Protection Invoices, 1999-2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Privatization of Meter Reading Citywide Scope of Work Summary

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bureau of Customer Services (BCS) intends to seek the services of a second party who is qualified in reading water meters and whose customer service standards are regulated by the State of New York Public Service Commission.

The scope of work for reading meters is for all five boroughs. It is proposed that the contract will cover the three boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan immediately and include the boroughs of the Bronx and Staten Island when their current contracts expire in 2003. The five boroughs have 828,000 customer accounts with 715,000 meters which are read quarterly, and 113,000 un-metered flat rate accounts. Flat rate accounts are not currently read but are scheduled to be converted to metered accounts within the next two years. In addition, there are approximately 20,000 Fire meters which are read once a year and 30,000 I-mon meters which are read twice a year.

The services to be provided include reading meters that are scheduled for regular quarterly billings and some special reading requests for those meters that fail billing system edits or require final readings associated with the sale or refinancing of the property or commercial business. Approximately 90% of the meters in Brooklyn, 95% in Queens and 77% in Manhattan are equipped with remote receptacles. The boroughs of Staten Island and the Bronx have 97% and 92% remote devices, respectively.

Currently, the remote equipped meters are read by a probe device that is connected to a hand held computer. Meter readings are electronically collected and subsequently uploaded to a PC in the borough office. Each night the meter reading data is uploaded to DEP's Customer Information System (CIS) and bills are generated. The handheld computer system comprises Logicon's VersaTerm, VersaProbe and Route Manager software.

It is expected that the meter reading equipment (Logicon, VersaTerm, VersaProbe and PC) will be provided by DEP for use by the vendor. The vendor may propose alternative equipment with approval by DEP, for obtaining readings as long as the file map and upload/download processes of CIS stay intact.

It is also expected that the start of the contract in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan will be staggered over a six months period so that each borough operation can be converted at a different time, not to exceed two months apart. The proposed duration of this contract is for three years with an option to renew the service twice for a period of one (1) year each.

The method of procurement will be competitive sealed bidding since the specifications can'be sufficiently definite and certain to permit selection based on bid price. Eligible bidders will be limited to utility companies licensed in New York State.

NYC-WTC 000137895