Meter Reading Service

Location:	Virginia
Posted:	Apr 20, 2026
Due:	May 12, 2026
Agency:	City of Suffolk
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services H - Quality Control, Testing, and Inspection Services
Solicitation No:	26131-JT
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Request for Proposal

City of Suffolk

RFP #26131-JT

April 20, 2026

Purchasing Division

442 West Washington Street, Room 1086

Suffolk, VA 23434

Phone: (757) 514-7520 / Fax: (757) 514-7524

METER READING SERVICES

Electronic proposals will be received at the office of the Purchasing Agent listed above, until the

time and date shown below (local prevailing time), for furnishing the items or services described

in the solicitation. Offers should be sent by e-mail attachment to: proposals@suffolkva.us with the

RFP number, and title in the subject line.

SCOPE OF WORK – The City of Suffolk has issued this sealed Request for Proposal (RFP) for the

sole purpose of obtaining responsive proposals from qualified firms to provide annual meter reading

services for the Department of Public Utilities.

Proposals are Due: 3:00 p.m., May 12, 2026

Contract Officer:

Julie Turner

Julie Turner, CPPB, NIGP-CPP, VCA, Senior Buyer, jeturner@suffolkva.us

The Senior Buyer, Julie Turner is the Contract Officer for the City of Suffolk with respect

to this RFP. All questions and/or comments should be directed to her at this email address:

jeturner@suffolkva.us. The respondents to this RFP shall not contact, either directly or

indirectly, any other employee or agent of the City regarding this RFP. This prohibition

shall also extend to the Suffolk City Council and other elected City officials. Any such

unauthorized contact may disqualify the bidder from the procurement

Company Name:

Address:

City / State / Zip:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Print Name:

**AN ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT SHALL BE PROVIDED**

FAX No.:

Title:

RFP 26131-JT

Page 1

In compliance with this Request for Proposal (RFP), and subject to all the conditions thereof, the

signatory offers, if this bid is accepted within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of the

opening, to furnish any or all of the items and/or services upon which prices are quoted, at the

price set opposite each item, to be delivered at the time and place specified herein. The above

signature certifies the bidder has read, understands, and agrees to all terms, conditions, and

requirements of this bid, and is authorized to contract on behalf of firm named above.

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS

Additional Request for Proposal documents are available on the Purchasing

https://www.suffolkva.us/Bids.aspx?CatID=17 or on the Commonwealth’s bid board (eVA), or at

Demandstar.com. An e-mail request for the complete RFP form may be sent to the Contract

Officer listed on the front page.

Offers may be sent to proposals@suffolkva.us or through eVA. Electronic copies (CD or thumb

drive) may be delivered to the Purchasing Office, 442 W. Washington Street, Room 1086, Suffolk,

Virginia, 23434 prior to the closure date shown, if desired. Documents should be saved as a .pdf

document and should conserve disk space to allow transfers of data. Do not send Zip files. Zip

files cannot be accepted.

Questions concerning this project must be in writing (email is preferred) and addressed to the

Contract Officer listed on the front page of this solicitation, and, should be received no later than

five (5) business days preceding the date that the proposals are to be received. E-mail is the

preferred method and will get a timelier response.

IF YOU NEED ANY REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR ANY TYPE OF DISABILITY IN

ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCUREMENT, PLEASE CONTACT THIS DIVISION AS

SOON AS POSSIBLE.

RFP 26131-JT

Page 2

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Meter Reading Services

SECTION/TITLE

1.0 PURPOSE ...........................................................................................................................4

2.0 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................4

3.0 COMPETITION INTENDED .............................................................................................4

4.0 TERM OF CONTRACT .....................................................................................................4

5.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES ....................................................................................................4

6.0 CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS................................................................................9

7.0 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS ...................................................9

8.0 SPECIFIC PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS..................................................................11

9.0 EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA......................................................................13

10.0 ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS .....................................................................................14

SIGNATURE SHEET..................................................................................................................27

PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IDENTIFICATION ..............................28

EXCEPTIONS TO RFP ..............................................................................................................29

ANTICOLLUSION .......................................................................................................................30

PROOF OF AUTHORITY TO TRANSACT BUSINESS IN VIRGINIA ................................31

RFP 26131-JT

Page 3

1.0 PURPOSE

The intent of this Request for Proposal is to establish a contract through competitive

negotiations with a qualified and experienced contractor for meter reading services for the

Department of Public Utilities.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The City requires an outside source/single contractor to provide meter reading services

associated with water usage for the entire area in order to accurately bill users for the utilities

provided to the residents of Suffolk.

3.0 COMPETITION INTENDED

It is the City’s intent that this Request for Proposal (RFP) permits competition. It shall be

the offeror’s responsibility to advise the Purchasing Agent in writing if any language

requirement, specification, etc., or any combination thereof, inadvertently restricts or

limits the requirements stated in this RFP to a single source. Such notification must be

received by the Purchasing Agent not later than five (5) business days prior to the date

set for acceptance of proposals.

4.0 TERM OF CONTRACT

The contract shall cover the period beginning August 1, 2026 (or upon receipt of signed

Contract) and continuing through July 31, 2027.

This contract may be renewed based on the terms and conditions at the expiration of its

term at the sole discretion of the City. Automatic renewals will occur for up to four (4)

additional one-year periods through July 31, 2031.

Initial rates and subsequent renewal rates must be guaranteed for a minimum of 12

months. Any request for an increase in rates following the initial contract period shall be

determined by the percentage defined in the “Transportation” Category of the PI-W section

of the Consumer Price Index of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the latest

twelve (12) months for which statistics are available. Price increases shall be justified in

writing and must be approved by the City. The City does not guarantee any rate increase.

5.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES

A. General

The Contractor is required to read approximately 30,000 water meters per month,

conforming to the City’s monthly meter reading schedule, maintaining a 28- to 32-

day bill period. The City has three (2) types of meters in its system: manual read,

and touch read. Pricing of reading each type of meter is requested.

Six (6) routes will be read daily, Monday through Friday, approximately 18 work

days per month. The 18 work days are required to allow for holidays and inclement

weather. All routes are expected to be read in their entirety on the day issued by

the City, unless otherwise approved. Adverse weather conditions will not relieve

the Contractor of reading responsibilities, unless approved by the City.

RFP 26131-JT

Page 4

Routes consist of approximately 250-400 meters. The City may change existing

route structure(s) to include new accounts and improve uniformity, and the

Contractor is required to maintain the route schedule. The Contractor’s work day

will begin no earlier than 7:00 a.m., with all work to be completed and returned to

the City by 3:30 p.m. The Contractor shall provide meter reading equipment and

provide a data file to the City for uploading onto the City’s billing system.

The number of meter readings provided herein is estimated and does not obligate

the City to any specific number of meter readings during the contract period.

B. Backreads

If a reading is not acquired for an account, a backread will be generated the next

workday. All backreads shall be completed by the Contractor’s employees on the

day received. The Contractor shall be assessed a penalty for each backread

issued. The penalty shall be ten dollars ($10.00) per backread and an additional

ten dollars ($10.00) for each day the backread is not completed.

The City is responsible for providing reasonable access to the contractor for all

meters assigned. The Contractor will not be assessed a penalty if it is determined,

after review, that access to a meter was not available. If the City determines that

a meter is not available, the City will perform the backread without penalty to the

Contractor.

The Contractor shall notify the City of any hazardous or irregular situations

observed at the meter reading sites by entering appropriate code in handheld unit

or by forwarding pertinent information to the City in writing, showing address and

scope of problem.

C. Miss-Reads

In the event that the City determines that the Contractor’s meter reading was in

error, the Contractor shall be assessed a penalty of ten dollars ($10.00) and shall

not be paid for the initial meter reading.

D. Payment

The Contractor shall be paid monthly for the number of meters read, based on the

contract rates, less any backread and miss-read penalties.

E. Supervision

The Contractor shall provide appropriate local and on-site supervision daily for

contract employees working in the City of Suffolk. The Supervisor shall coordinate

reading schedules with the City and shall be readily accessible by phone during

normal working hours for problem resolution.

The Contractor will be responsible for scheduling and arranging work

assignments, field monitoring of meter readers, monitoring reader activity from

reports, preparing management reports, and resolution and follow-up of customer

complaints related to Contractor reading.

RFP 26131-JT

Page 5

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Bid Number:	26131-JT
Bid Title:	Meter Reading Service
Category:	Purchasing Bid Board Posting
Status:	Open

Meter Reading Service

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