Electric System Inventory

The City of Bartow, Florida issued Request for Proposals 26-14 on April 17, 2026, seeking qualified contractors to conduct a comprehensive system-wide audit of the City's electric distribution infrastructure covering a 115-square-mile service area with over 13,600 retail electric accounts. The procurement requires detailed field verification and GPS data collection for all electric system assets, including approximately 13,359 poles with attachments, 2,208 overhead transformers, 5,278 streetlights, 1,372 pad-mounted transformers, 13,600 meters, switches, capacitors, reclosers, fuses, and related distribution facilities. Deliverables must include high-accuracy GPS location data with sub-foot positional accuracy of 0.3 meters, comprehensive phasing and attribute information, pole photographs, and all data delivered in ESRI File Geodatabase format compatible with the City's GIS and Cartegraph OpenGov Enterprise Management systems. The contractor must achieve and maintain a 98% accuracy rate for feature capture and placement, implement quality assurance and quality control procedures with complete feature validation on initial deliveries and sampling verification on subsequent submissions, and provide redelivery with 99% accuracy for corrected errors with problem/action report responses within 48 business hours. Required qualifications include proper licensing, no history of contract defaults or lawsuits, commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000, business automobile liability of $1,000,000, and workers' compensation coverage at statutory limits. The proposal deadline is May 20, 2026, at 2:00 pm, with evaluation committee meetings scheduled for June 2, 9, and 16, 2026, and a tentative City Commission award date of June 29, 2026. The contract term extends through November 30, 2026, with performance commencing upon execution and purchase order issuance, and includes a mandatory pilot project completion requirement within 90 days of contract execution.

The City affords preferences to local vendors within the Bartow Utility Service Area and to certified Women/Minority-Owned Businesses (W/MBE) and Veteran-Owned Businesses (VBE), though no mandatory set-asides are specified. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement documents. The contractor is responsible for integrating with the City's existing GIS database and Cartegraph asset management systems, utilizing source materials provided in digital format including Polk County Landbase files, subdivision maps, and legacy data from Bartow's AS400 Meter Master File and Versaterm systems. Pricing is structured on actual per-unit costs for structures inventoried, with all contractor costs including labor, payroll taxes, meals, fuel, automotive expenses, taxes, and insurance included in the unit price; estimated quantities are provided in Appendix D but are considered approximate with actual quantities subject to field verification. Monthly invoices are submitted for completed and approved production files with 10% retainage held until successful project completion, and the contractor faces liquidated damages of $1,000 per calendar day for failure to meet completion deadlines. While specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed, the scope and scale of the project across 115 square miles with over 13,000 inventory items suggests a substantial contract value.