RFP 26131-JT Meter Reading Service

The City of Suffolk, Virginia, Department of Public Utilities issued Request for Proposal 26131-JT on April 20, 2026, seeking a qualified contractor to provide meter reading services for approximately 30,000 water meters monthly across its service area. The contractor must read both manual read meters (estimated 16,500 monthly) and touch read meters (estimated 13,500 monthly), with separate pricing required for each meter type. Service delivery consists of six routes read daily, Monday through Friday, for approximately 18 work days per month, with individual routes containing 250 to 400 meters each, and the contractor must maintain the city's 28- to 32-day billing cycle. The contractor is responsible for all equipment, uniforms, training, transportation, and supervision, and must be capable of commencing service within 30 days of contract award. Proposals must be submitted electronically to proposals@suffolkva.us by 3:00 p.m. on May 12, 2026, for a contract term beginning August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027, with provisions for automatic renewal for up to four additional one-year periods through July 31, 2031. Required qualifications include a minimum of three years' experience in contract meter reading and three client references with at least one year of experience with the vendor; contractor employees must possess valid driver's licenses, pass criminal background checks and drug screening, and wear standardized uniforms with identification badges. Evaluation criteria weight experience and capabilities at 25 percent, quality of service and references at 25 percent, price at 30 percent, and proposal quality and completeness at 20 percent, with penalties assessed for backreads ($10 per instance plus $10 per day for incomplete reads) and miss-reads ($10 penalty with no payment for the initial reading).

The solicitation documents do not indicate any set-aside designations, restrictions on bidder types, or disadvantaged enterprise requirements. No incumbent vendor or current contractor information was provided in the RFP materials. The contractor bears full responsibility for all damage claims to customer property, and the City reserves the right to require exclusion of incompetent or unsuitable employees from service delivery. No bidders' conference or mandatory site visit was scheduled for this procurement. The specific award value or budget range for this contract was not disclosed in the available documentation.