Utility Meter Reading Services

The City of Bartow, Florida is seeking a qualified vendor to provide comprehensive utility meter reading services for electric and water utilities serving approximately 24,000 customers across the City's Utilities Service Areas (BUSA). The primary objective is to secure a vendor capable of monthly meter reading for approximately 24,500 meters utilizing various technologies including AMCO, ZENNER, RG3, Landis, Fyr, Aclara, Elster, and G.E. systems. Vendors must maintain a minimum staff of six meter readers and one supervisor, provide professional smartphone-based meter reading systems with GPS technology and photo documentation, and ensure 99.7% monthly read completion rates. The proposal is due by 2:00 p.m. EDT on December 30, 2025, with an anticipated evaluation committee review scheduled for January 7-21, 2026, and potential City Commission award to follow. Evaluation criteria totaling 100 points will assess organizational resources (15 points), experience and expertise (30 points), project approach (25 points), performance surveys (10 points), and cost (10 points).

The solicitation includes preferences for Women/Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (W/MBE) and Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (VBE) certifications, which can earn additional preference points. Vendors must provide a $20,000 performance bond and maintain specific insurance coverages, including $1,000,000 in commercial general liability and commercial automobile liability. The initial contract term is three years, with potential annual renewals upon mutual agreement and negotiated price adjustments. Financial penalties are built into the contract, including charges for underread meters ($5.00 per unread meter over three per 1,000), meter reading errors ($5.00-$15.00 per error), late completion ($100.00 per day), and unresolved customer complaints ($25.00 per incident). The contract anticipates a gradual increase in service demand, with estimated monthly read quantities rising from 24,500 in Year 1 to 25,000 in Year 3, suggesting potential growth in the City of Bartow's utility customer base.