Commission to review sole‑source, $86,000 purchase of meter transmitters for automated reads

Staff presented a planned purchase of transmitters for meter boxes, saying the items are sole‑source and exceed the $35,000 threshold that triggers commission review. "This is the only provider that we can get these this material from, but it is over a $35,000 mark. So we're putting it before the commission," staff said. The transmitters, budgeted at roughly $86,000, will send meter reads back to the utility billing office and are intended to reduce the need for staff to make physical reads; staff said the deployment is projected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2027. Staff emphasized crews will still be required to repair and service meters and transmitters. No formal award or contract was recorded in the excerpt; the item was included on the agenda because of the dollar threshold and the sole‑source procurement method.