Request for Information (RFI) for Optimizing Utility Expense Management System

The Tucson Unified School District is assessing a range of utility bill management system solutions for potential implementation through a future bidding process.

The objective is to centralize and automate utility bill management for electricity, natural gas, water, waste, and telecommunications (if applicable) to provide real-time or as close to real-time usage tracking and reporting, improve efficiency throughout payment processing, enhance cost control and budgeting for different levels of users, and ensure secure and seamless integration with banking/payment platforms.

Provide information for a comprehensive implementation of a utilities management system, encompassing system selection or development, data migration and integration with existing platforms, optional process standardization, development of reporting and analytics capabilities, identification and tracking of cost savings, optional automated payment implementation, and thorough training and ongoing support, including 24/7 customer service and AI assistance, while ensuring robust data security and compliance.

The Tucson Unified School District currently manages approximately 1,100 utility accounts, encompassing electricity, natural gas, water, and waste services, through relationships with 14 different vendors. Utility bill data is currently entered manually by two separate departments: Facilities, which requires technical consumption data for operational efficiency analysis, and Finance, which focuses on billing amounts and account reconciliation. This decentralized and manual process is exceptionally time-consuming, consuming an estimated 70 hours across both departments, and presents a significant challenge in ensuring timely data entry. The inherent nature of manual data input also introduces a considerable risk of data entry errors. Consequently, real-time, or even near real-time, visibility into utility consumption and costs is not available, significantly delaying the identification and implementation of crucial energy and water efficiency measures. Furthermore, the current system makes it difficult to efficiently track overall utility spending, generate comprehensive reports, and proactively identify potential billing anomalies. To overcome these challenges and improve operational efficiency, the district aims to centralize and automate its utility bill management process.