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Glendale staff to ask council to approve $24 million AMI water meter replacement after 40% of endpoints lost communication
Summary
Glendale Water & Power staff told commissioners April 6 that roughly 40% of the utility's water AMI endpoints are not communicating and recommended awarding a just‑over $24 million contract to Ferguson (plus inspection services) to replace meters, lids and head‑end systems; staff said the project would finish by 2027 and carries a 15–20 year warranty.
Glendale Water & Power staff told the commission on April 6 that roughly 40% of the utility's automated meter infrastructure (AMI) endpoints are not communicating, forcing field crews to collect reads manually and limiting customers' ability to see usage or detect leaks.
"Right now, about 40% of our water endpoints...are not communicating," said Giancarlo Alcantara, the utility business support administrator. He described a multi‑vendor RFP process that produced four proposals and a staff recommendation to select Ferguson as the AMI vendor and Willdan for inspection services.
Alcantara said Ferguson's recommended contract — described to commissioners as "just over $24,000,000" — covers full deployment including new lids, first‑year system support and a 10% contingency; inspection services were estimated at about $462,000. Staff told commissioners they negotiated lid pricing after initial proposals did not include lid replacement.
Commissioners pressed staff on contract terms and capabilities. Alcantara said the meters and system carry a 15–20 year equipment warranty and that the head‑end software will be delivered as a software‑as‑a‑service package. He said the standard meters to be installed do not include remote disconnect as a built‑in feature, though Ferguson offers options that could be added later at additional cost.
On interoperability and vendor lock‑in, staff said the procurement was structured to allow segregation of hardware and software where feasible and agreed to include provisions that would permit migration to alternate software if needed after the initial five‑year maintenance period.
Staff described customer outreach plans: a 48‑hour door hanger for scheduled replacements plus email, text and multilingual outreach (Armenian, Spanish, Korean were listed) and a vendor call center to support customer questions. Commission discussion noted a typical meter replacement takes roughly 20–30 minutes and that staff will present a rollout schedule and neighborhood notification plan.
The commission was told staff will take the contracts to city council on April 28 for award and authorization to proceed; estimated project completion was given as 2027.
What happens next: council consideration of the Ferguson and Willdan contracts is scheduled for April 28 per staff; commissioners requested a deployment schedule, more detail on lids and an outreach plan for customers who will receive onsite replacements.
